A Walk In The Dust
by JunoInferno
Summary: A retelling of Series 3 where Rose is still with the Doctor, but they are joined by Donna Noble. Shipping inside. Also, they go to the Planet of the Hats. Voyage of the Damned in progress.
1. The Runaway Bride, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or Rose. This is a retelling of Series 3 with two slight/major differences. One, Rose did not get sucked into the Void during Doomsday. Two, Donna will be travelling with the Doctor and Rose for the duration. Now, disclaimer, this will be unabashedly Doctor/Donna, if you have a problem with that, you should probably push the back button. Also, if you haven't guessed by now there are going to be spoilers for pretty much all of Series 3 and I will be ripping it off profusely with some differences, you can probably guess what those are. Consider yourself warned. Otherwise, happy reading and please let me know what you think. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Life can throw you for a loop sometimes. One moment you're walking down the aisle at the wedding you've dreamed of all your life and the next...<p>

You're standing on a metal grating, in the weirdest room you've ever been in, looking at some skinny man with ridiculous hair and a blonde girl with too much eye make up making eyes at him.

"What?," said the ridiculous man.

"Who the hell are you two?"

"But-"

"Where am I?"

"What?"

"What the hell is this place?"

"What?"

The Doctor rushed around the console, searching for some explanation. "What? You can't do that? We're in flight! That is physically impossible!"

"Where am I? I demand you tell me right now: where am I?"

"You're inside the TARDIS," said Rose.

"The what?"

"The TARDIS!," Rose repeated.

"The what?"

"The TARDIS!"

"The what?"

"It's called the TARDIS," said the Doctor.

"That's not even a proper word! Now you're just saying things!"

"How did you get in here?," the Doctor asked, peering at her closer.

"Well, obviously when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Was it Nerys? Oh, my God, it's Nerys. She's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it!"

"Who's Nerys?," asked Rose.

Donna motioned. "Your best friend. It's so obvious you've been sharing the same bottle of peroxide!"

The Doctor suddenly realized Donna was wearing a wedding dress. "Hold on, what are you dressed like that for?"

"Doctor..." said Rose.

"I'm going ten pin bowling! What do you think, dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle! I've waited all my life for this and I was just seconds away and I don't know, you drugged me or something-"

"We haven't done anything to you!," Rose protested.

Donna pointed at the blonde. "You. Shut up." She looked at the doctor. "I'll have the police on you! I don't know what sort of weird cult this is where young girls follow you around!"

The Doctor went on, playing with the controls, unconcerned by Donna's rants.

"How long is she going to go on?," muttered Rose.

"Oi, blondie, I told you to shut up, remember that? About twenty seconds ago?" Donna spotted a door and walked towards it.

"No, hold on!," shouted the Doctor.

Donna opened the door revealing...

"We're in space..." the Doctor said softly. "Outer space. This is my space ship. It's called the TARDIS."

"How am I breathing?," asked Donna.

"The TARDIS is protecting us," said the Doctor.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is my friend, Rose. You?"

"Donna?"

The Doctor looked her up and down in a way that Rose didn't like. "Human?"

"Yeah. Is that optional?"

"It is for me."

"You're an alien," said Donna.

"Not me," said Rose siding up to them. "Human as they come."

Donna rolled her eyes. "It's freezing with these doors open."

The Doctor shut the doors and bounded back in the TARDIS going off on another tangent about how this was impossible. He started taking various implements out of a tool belt to examine Donna and was looking in her eye when she slapped him.

"What was that for?"

"Get me to the church!"

"Fine," the Doctor stiffened. "I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"

"St. Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, Earth, the Solar System."

"Right!," said the Doctor, flipping one of the controls. "Chiswick!"

Internally, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't cared for the ginger and furthermore hadn't cared for the way the Doctor had appraised her.

The TARDIS landed and Donna rushed out, eager to get back to her wedding. Instead, she found herself in an alley. She glared at the Doctor as he rubbed the side of the TARDIS gently. "Something's wrong with her..."

"I said Saint Mary's. What's this? What sort of Martian are you?"

Donna rolled her eyes.

"It's re-calibrating!" He flew back in the ship and that's when Donna noticed that she had just come out of a blue police box.

It was bigger on the inside, but what the hell was that? Frigtened, she put her hand over her mouth, scared of screaming out loud and started running.

"Donna!," shouted the Doctor, running after her.

"Doctor!," said Rose. "We've got her to Earth, London even, seems like more than enough for her..."

"She's just scared, Rose." He quickened his pace to catch up with the bride. "Donna."

'Leave me alone. I just want to get married."

"Come back to the TARDIS," the Doctor pleaded.

"That box is too weird," said Donna.

"It's just bigger on the inside," said Rose.

Oh, good. The blonde had followed him. Did she go everywhere with him? Donna wondered.

"Oh, that's all!" Donna looked at her watch and sighed. "Ten past three, I'm going to miss it."

"You can phone them, tell them where you are."

"How am I going to do that?," asked Donna.

"Haven't you got a mobile?"

"I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets?"

The Doctor looked at Rose. "Where's yours?"

"It got sucked into the Void."

"Oh, well, that's no help," said the Doctor.

Donna glared at them both. "No one is going to stop me from getting married. The hell with you two!"

Donna ran up the street.

"Donna, wait!," the Doctor called after her, running again to catch up.

"Doctor!," shouted Rose.

Rose watched as the Doctor and Donna tried to hail a taxi.

"What's the matter? Why aren't they stopping?"

"They think she's a nutter," offered Rose.

"Hold on," said the Doctor, whistling loudly.

A taxi pulled over immediately and the piled inside.

"Double rates today," said the driver.

"Oh, my God!," said Donna. She looked at the Doctor. "Have you got any money?"

"Uh, no. Haven't you?"

"Pockets!," Donna shouted.

The Doctor looked at Rose. "What about you?"

Rose searched in the pockets of her jacket. "I have an Oyster Card."

"Oh, God," said Donna.

"Oh, sorry, expired," said Rose.

The driver pulled over and they were unceremoniously dumped on the sidewalk as Donna spouted a fountain of insults at the driver, his family, his ancestors dating back to the dawn of time, the profession of cab driving in general and something about it being Christmas.

"It's Christmas?," asked Rose, looking around.

"You're a quick one, aren't you? Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve," said Donna. She started running. "Phone box!"

The Doctor followed her and Rose followed the Doctor.

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?," asked the Doctor.

"I hate Christmas. Honeymoon, Morocco, lovely!"

"You hate Christmas?," asked Rose in disbelief.

"She's got a point," said the Doctor.

Donna reached the phone box. "What do you dial? A hundred? I haven't done this in years!"

The Doctor put the sonic screwdriver to the phone. "Just call direct."

"What did you do?"

"Something... Martian. Phone, I'll get money!"

The Doctor ran over to a cash machine and queued up, hopping around impatiently. Rose laughed as he finally reached the front.

He looked at her. "Why aren't you watching Donna?"

"What am I? Her babysitter?"

The Doctor took the money from the machine. "What if she tries to run off again?" He looked across to see just that happening as Donna got in a taxi. "Oh, blimey..."

"Thanks for nothing, spaceman!," Donna shouted. "I'll see you in court!"

"Well," said Rose, "end of that. We don't know where she's headed."

The Doctor didn't answer because he noticed that the taxi Donna had just gotten in was being driven by a Roboform.

* * *

><p>There was nothing quite as dull as a motorway journey to their grandparents' house in the North all the way from London, Maisie and Bernard thought in the back of the Land Rover.<p>

Then they noticed a blue box flying over the motorway towards a taxi where a ginger woman in a wedding dress was beating the windows, shouting for help.

"Mummy!," said Bernard.

"Mummy!," said Maisie.

Mummy sighed. "I told you two no more shouting about every little thing..."

"But Mummy..." whined Maisie.

"That does it," said Daddy. "We're officially ignoring you until we get out of London."

"But Daddy, there's a blue box flying over the motorway!," Bernard protested.

"Bernard, do you remember the story of the boy who cried wolf?"

They looked back, the door to the blue box had opened and a skinny man leaned out of the doorway, pointing something at the windows of the taxi.

"I can't hear!," said Maisie. "Daddy, roll down the window!"

Daddy sighed and rolled down the window.

"You've got to jump!"

"I'm not jumping! I'm supposed to be getting married!"

The taxi sped up to Bernard and Maisie's dismay.

"Speed up!," the man shouted in the phone box.

"Is that voice control, you think?," Bernard asked Maisie. "That's so wizard!"

The blue box rubbed against the motorway.

"Above the motorway, Rose! Above it!"

The blue box then hit the roof of a car.

"Without hitting the cars, Rose!"

The box ended up next to the taxi again and the man pointed the stick or whatever it was at the driver of the taxi.

Who looked like a robot.

"Listen to me, you've got to jump!"

"I'm not jumping on a motorway!"

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!," she yelled just as loudly.

"YES! You look lovely! Come on!"

They watched as the woman opened the door, bracing herself to jump. She looked at the man with fear.

"Trust me," he said.

Bernard and Maisie started yelling for the woman to jump.

"What are you two on about?," asked Daddy.

"I told you not to give them that fizzy drink with high fructose corn syrup," said Mummy.

"We've been over this, Judy! It's the same sugar no matter where it comes from!"

The woman seemed to notice Bernard and Maisie's shouting. She looked back at the man.

"Trust me, now jump!"

The woman took a breath and jumped, falling into the man's arms and Bernard and Maisie cheered wildly as the blue box flew away.

"Don't make me come back there," said Mummy.

* * *

><p>The Doctor put the fire extinguisher to the TARDIS as smoke came out of the old girl.<p>

"Not meant for flying then?," asked Rose.

"No, suppose not." The Doctor glanced back at Donna as she looked at her watch. "You alright?," he asked her.

"Doesn't matter," she answered.

"Did we miss it?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, you can book another date," said Rose. "Still got the honeymoon."

Donna shrugged. "It's just a holiday now."

"Yeah..." agreed the Doctor. "Yeah, sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Oh, that's a change," the Doctor grinned.

"Too bad we don't have a time machine," said Donna, "we could go back and get it right."

"Yeah," snickered Rose.

Donna shot her another look and sat down on the edge of the building. The Doctor took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders and sat next to her.

Rose was just contemplating that little manuever when the Doctor took out a gold ring.

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?," asked Donna.

"Those creatures can trace you. This is a biodamper," said the Doctor. "Should protect you."

Then he slid it across her finger.

"With this ring, I thee biodamp."

Donna smiled wanly. "For better or for worse."

Rose saw the Doctor smiling broadly back at Donna. She hastily sat down next to him.

"So," said Rose, "how did you meet your fiance? What's his name? Tell us all about him."

Donna then went on about some story about coffee and how she met Lance at an office that bored Rose. What interested her was the looks the Doctor kept giving to Donna.

"When was this?," asked the Doctor finally.

"Six months ago," answered Donna.

"Bit quick to get married," said the Doctor.

"Not really," offered Rose. "When it's right, it's right, isn't it?"

"Takes longer than that to really get to know someone," said the Doctor.

"Well, how long?," Rose said sharply.

Things began to click for Donna just then.

She spoke before the Doctor could be forced to answer. "Well, he insisted and he nagged me and nagged me and finally, I just gave in."

"What does HC Clements do?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, security systems, you know, entry codes, I.D. cards, that sort of thing... You ask me, it's a posh name for locksmith."

"Keys..."

"Enough of my CV," said Donna. "Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy."

The Doctor shook his head as he stood. "I'm not from Mars..."

Donna nodded. The Doctor reached down to help her up off the roof. They started walking away as the Doctor took his jacket back.

"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken..." said Donna.

"Come on, Rose!," shouted the Doctor.

Rose glared as she got herself off the ledge and hurried to follow. They went down the stairs and got in the building's lift and headed down to the street to hail a taxi.

"I've still got a tenner," said Donna, pulling the note from her cleavage. She shrugged at the Doctor as he looked at her in surprise or... "What do you want? No pockets, remember?"

"I'll get this," said the Doctor.

"Don't think they'll take Martian money," said Donna.

"He's not from Mars," Rose corrected, but the Doctor just smiled as he hailed a taxi. He helped Donna in and then got in.

Rose looked. "Scoot over."

"Oi! Don't ruin the dress!," said Donna at the Doctor's first failed attempt to shift. "I've got to have this for another day apparently."

The Doctor looked at Rose. "Can't you just sit in the front?," he asked, shutting the door.

Rose walked around the car and got in the front passenger seat.

The driver looked in the rear mirror. "Registrar's office?," he asked.

"They're not getting married," Rose said quickly. "They're not a couple."

"Really?," said the driver. He looked back. "Where to then?"

"Dashwood Hall, Chiswick," answered Donna.

"Whatever you say, miss."

The Doctor snorted. "Isn't that the truth?"

"Oi!," said Donna.

"What is it then?," asked the driver. "Fancy dress party?" He looked at Rose. "What are you going as?"

* * *

><p>Donna walked into the reception hall first to find a party going as everyone danced to "Merry Xmas" by Slade. The Doctor drew his breath as Donna stopped and crossed her arms. Rose couldn't help smiling to herself as the music cut out.<p>

"You had the reception without me?"

"Donna, what happened to you?," said a man who the Doctor supposed must be Lance.

"You had the reception without me?"

No one answered this time. The Doctor spoke up trying to end the stalemate. "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose."

"Hello."

Donna turned back to the Doctor. "They had the reception without me!"

"Yes, I gathered."

Rose shrugged. "I mean, I suppose it was paid for, right?"

A woman in a blue dress spoke up. "That's what I said!"

"Thank you, Nerys and thank you, Rose!," said Donna.

An older woman approached, who the Doctor guessed must have been Donna's mother. "Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end - "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know—"

Suddenly, all of Donna's friends and family were speaking in an overlapping babble that seemed incomprehensible to the Doctor. He was about to look over at Rose when he notived Donna's desperate glance at him. Was this the part where he was supposed to explain? Was she actually asking for help? He tried to think of a stratagem for this particular scenario, but these sorts of things usually ended in him getting slapped. Of course, Donna had slapped him already...

Then Donna burst out in a fit of tears that immediately elicited sympathy from the partygoers. Lance went to comfort her and then the whole room applauded.

The Doctor was surprised at this sudden change in Donna's ccountenance and then she winked at him. He heard Rose tsk disapprovingly.

She was faking it to shut them up he realized.

Brilliant!

The party got into full swing as the Doctor leaned against the bar watching Donna dance with her fiance. She noticed and made a silly face at the Doctor that made it impossible for him to not smile.

Rose noticed this as she stood next to the Doctor and motioned at the dance floor. "You still got the moves?"

"H.C. Clements," mused the Doctor. "What do you suppose they do?"

Rose sighed. "She said locksmith."

"Doubt that."

The Doctor borrowed a mobile from the man down the bar and used the sonic screwdriver on it.

"Don't see why we have to stay," said Rose. "She's safe. Seems alright."

The Doctor continued staring at the mobile.

"Family and friends started the party without her," said Rose. "That must say something about her..."

The Doctor wasn't listening, though. He had just discovered something on the mobile. "Oh, look at that. H.C. Clements was bought up by Torchwood!," said the Doctor, looking at the mobile.

"Isn't Torchwood gone now?," asked Rose.

"Oh, but that's what they want you to think..." He handed the mobile back to the man down the bar. "There may be a slight expansion in your coverage area."

The Doctor turned back to Donna, still dancing. He then spotted a videographer. They watched the film of Donna vanishing as she walked down the aisle.

"Wait, play that again," said the Doctor.

"Clever mind," said the young videographer. "Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping."

"But that's impossible!," said the Doctor.

"What is it, Doctor?," asked Rose.

"That looks like Huon particles, but they haven't existed for billions of years. So ancient..."

Rose watched as the Doctor's gaze fell to Donna again on the dance floor.

"That it can't be hidden by a biodamper!," he finished with a shout, running towards the windows.

As soon as Rose got to the window and saw the Roboforms, the Doctor was running towards Donna on the dance floor, saying they had to get out of here.

"But you said I was safe!," Donna protested.

"The biodamper doesn't work! We have to get everyone out!"

Donna looked around in despair. "Oh, my God, it's all my family..."

"Out the back!," the Doctor rushed with her and Rose hurried to keep up.

The back door as well was being approached by Roboforms. The Doctor, Donna and Rose ran back in the hall and looked out another window.

More Roboforms.

"We're trapped," said Donna.

The Doctor realized that the Roboforms were holding a remote control.

"What have they got that for?," asked Rose.

The Doctor looked to the Christmas tree in the center of the room.

"Christmas trees..."

"Oh, God," said Rose.

"What about them?," asked Donna.

"They kill," said the Doctor.

They started rushing towards the children at the tree, hustling them away as they shouted warnings to get away from the tree. Sylvia protested.

"The man's an idiot! What harm's a Christmas tree going to do? Oh..."

They looked up to see the baubles floating in the air, like bubbles. The wedding guests oohed and aahed at the display and then the baubles started blowing up like tiny firecrackers.

There was a panic and everyone headed for safety. Donna got behind a toppled table and yanked Lance down with her as the man stood around like an idiot.

Rose got behind another table and watched the Doctor as he rushed across the room and towards the sound system.

"Oi! Santa! Word of advice, if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver..." he picked up the microphone. "...don't let him near the sound system."

The Doctor put the sonic screwdriver on the amplifiers causing the room to vibrate with unbearable high pitched noise. The guests moaned in discomfort as the Roboforms shook apart.

The Doctor leapt to dissect the Roboforms, noticing out of the corners of his eyes as Donna gently checked on some of the children to make sure they were alright and then ordered Lance to start helping people. Rose suddenly appeared beside him.

"What do Roboforms want Donna for?," she asked.

"Remote control for the decorations," said the Doctor looking at the robot carnage, "there's another remote control for the robots, but who's controlling the remote control?"

"Never mind all that," Donna spoke up behind him, "you're a doctor. People have been hurt."

"He's not that kind of Doctor," Rose glared back at Donna.

"Nah," said the Doctor, "they wanted you alive, look, they're inactive now." He tossed her a baubles.

"All I'm saying, you could help," said Donna.

"Gotta think of the bigger picture, Donna. There's still a signal!"

The Doctor ran out, followed by Rose.

"Donna, who is he?," asked Sylvia. "Who is that man?"

Donna didn't answer, just fled out of the hall after the Doctor.

The Doctor was scanning the roboform helmet, musing as he investigated. "There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force."

"But why is it me? What have I done?," asked Donna.

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out. Oh!" The Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver into the air. "It's up there. Something in the sky..."

The Doctor looked at Lance as he came outside.

"Donna, we've got to get to your office, HC Clements. I think that's where this all started. Lance, is it Lance? Can you give us a lift?"

* * *

><p>"Not exactly a chase, is it?," asked the Doctor.<p>

He was contorted in the backseat of Lance's car, which had regrettably turned out to be a Smart. Rose was crushed in the corner, half behind the Doctor.

Donna glared. "There's a speed limit. I'm not going to jail in my wedding dress."

"It's like driving a hair dryer!," said the Doctor.

"Hold on. Speed bumps," said Donna, braking.

"That's alright," said the Doctor, "no rush."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Just letting you know, I can't take credit for that bit with the Smart, you can check out the deleted scene on YouTube.<p> 


	2. The Runaway Bride, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or Rose. I don't really want Rose... Anyway, do I have to issue that Doctor/Donna disclaimer again? Spoilers for Series 3? No... Anyway, thank you for the reads and the reviews, I'm glad that there's enthusiasm for this idea. Thanks again and please let me know what you think of this one. Happy reading!

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><p>Rose did not like the way that the Doctor was looking at Donna. No matter what she did or said, he was still grinning at her.<p>

They had rushed into H.C. Clements, the Doctor had begun an explanation of how the place Donna and Lance worked at, H.C. Clements was actually a front for Torchwood.

"What's that?," asked Donna.

"The Battle of Canary Wharf," said Rose.

"Huh?," asked Donna.

Rose looked at Donna incredulously. "Cybermen? Daleks? All in the sky?"

"Oh," said Donna. "I was in Spain."

"They had Cybermen all over the world," said Rose.

"I was scuba diving," Donna answered sharply. She looked back at the Doctor. "What's this got to do with me?"

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS. See? That's what happened. Say... that's the TARDIS," he said, picking up a mug and then he picked up a pencil. "That's you. The pencils inside the mug magnetized and whap!" He threw the pencil inside the mug.

"It pulled her inside the TARDIS?," Rose asked with a smile.

"Yep."

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?," asked Donna.

"Yes you are, sums you up, 4H."

Rose smiled behind Donna's back, for a minute she had thought the Doctor actually liked her! At least he was starting to realize how daft she was...

The Doctor looked at Lance. "Lance, is there anything top secret? Eyes only? Special access?" He sat at the computer and used the sonic screwdriver on it.

"How should I know? I work in personnel, I'm not project manager! What are we even talking about?"

"They make keys, that's the point," said the Doctor. He looked at the monitor. "We're on the third floor..."

Suddenly, they were at the lift.

"Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?," asked the Doctor. The lift doors opened and he stepped inside. "Then how come when you look in the lift there's a button marked lower basement?"

"A secret floor," smiled Rose.

Donna motioned at it. "It needs a key."

"I don't," said the Doctor, pointing the sonic screwdriver at the controls. Rose jumped inside.

"Okay, we've got it from here," said Rose, eager to shake off the interlopers.

Donna ignored her, looking at the Doctor. "No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight," she said, swooping into the lift.

They looked at Lance.

"Going down?," asked the Doctor.

"Lance," said Donna.

"Maybe I should go to the police..."

"Inside!"

"Got you trained then," said Rose as Lance retreated into the lift.

He snorted. "Tell me about it."

"Oi!," Donna shouted, silencing them.

* * *

><p>The Doctor couldn't help but start laughing after Donna did. It was so infectious as they rode down the tunnel on the Segways. He looked back at Rose, but she didn't seem to get the joke, neither did Lance, but that only seemed to make them laugh even more.<p>

Funny, seemed like the sort of thing Rose might have gotten a kick out of...

He wondered if it had anything to do with what Rose had said before Donna appeared on the TARDIS...

He really didn't want to think about that.

So, he threw himself into solving the mystery with his usual gusto, climbing up the ladder to find that they were under the Thames Flood Barrier. Donna seemed amazed by it, Rose acted unimpressed. Oh, well, business as usual, routine...

Routine? Was that what they had become? It was almost...

Domestic.

He pushed that also quite unpleasant thought aside as he found the Huon particles suspended in the secret Torchwood laboratory. He held out one of the tubes of Huon particles to show it to Donna and she looked terrified as it glowed and she did at the same time. Then it hit him!

"Because the particles are inert - they need something living to catalyze inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... HA!The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, wham, go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, shazam!"

Then she hit him.

Again.

"What did I do this time?"

"Are you enjoying this?"

Well, she did have a point there, didn't she?

She approached him, he could see the fear in her eyes again. How he hated to see her afraid...

"Right, just tell me...these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

So, naturally, he lied. "Yes!"

So, naturally, she saw right through that. "So, Doctor, tell me, if your lot got rid of Huon Particles, why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly."

"Oh, my God..."

"I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it."

"So, what do they need the Huon Particles in her for?," asked Rose.

There were crashes and bangs all around as a huge door began to rise in front of them.

"All in good time, my little nibble..." a horrendous voice said from sort of sound system.

The door lifted fully, revealing a hole. A huge hole, impossibly huge.

"Someone's been digging... oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?"

"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!"

The Doctor frowned. "Really? Seriously? What for?"

"Dinosaurs?," offered Donna.

"What?"

"Dinosaurs."

"What are you on about, dinosaurs?"

"That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Seriously, that's not helping."

The voice spoke again. "Such a sweet couple!"

Rose spoke back. "They're not a couple!"

"Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

"High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night."

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let's have a look at you!"

"Who are you with such command?"

"I'm the Doctor!"

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart."

The Doctor was about to wonder where Lance had wandered off to- hadn't he mentioned not to do that?- when suddenly, before them appeared a giant, spider-like woman, but that was impossible, that could only be...

"You're one of the Racnoss..."

"Empress of the Racnoss," she corrected.

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or... are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind," she snarled.

"That's it, the last of your kind." Rose and Donna leaned in to listen to him. "The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago, billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets."

"Whole planets?," asked Rose with sudden interest.

"Racnoss are born starving, is that our fault?," asked the Empress.

"They eat people?," Donna asked in horror.

That's when the Doctor spotted something in the Empress' web in the ceiling across the pit.

"H.C. Clements, did he wear those, those, erm, black and white shoes?"

"He did! We used to laugh! We used to call him the fat cat in spats!"

The Doctor pointed at what was apparently the feet of H.C. Clements in the web.

"Oh, my God!," said Donna.

"My Christmas dinner..." the Empress said with delight.

Suddenly, out of one of her legs, she spun some kind of web across the pit at Rose, spinning her in it. The pod fell to the ground next to them.

"What did you do that for?," asked the Doctor.

"She's preserved alive for now. I might be peckish later," answered the Empress. "I hate spoiled meat!"

"You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss - they were wiped out." As he spoke he noticed Lance sneaking up behind the Empress, motioning for he and Donna to stay quiet as he carried an axe. Maybe not the best plan, not the worst, maybe he wasn't as useless as he had seemed, wouldn't have been the first time the Doctor had been proven wrong about someone...

"Except for me," answered the Empress.

The Doctor was impressed with how quickly Donna moved to distract the Empress with the one thing she definitely managed to distract with: talking. Not that he looked down on it, he had as big a gob as anyone. "But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I got all stacked up with these Huon particles?"

"Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me!"

"The bride is so feisty," the Empress said in glee.

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big... thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!," Donna shouted.

The Empress looked back at Lance, he seemed to freeze and then they broke out into laughter.

Oh, blimey.

More worthless than he thought.

"That was a good one. Your face!," Lance said to the Empress.

"Lance is funny," said the Empress.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said softly to Donna.

"Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid, get her!"

"God, she's thick!," said Lance.

The Doctor looked at Donna, trying to comprehend what had just transpired.

"Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!"

"I don't understand," said Donna weakly.

"How did you meet him?," the Doctor asked gently, hoping she would figure it out on her own and not have to endure the humiliation of it being explained to her.

"In the office."

"He made you coffee."

"What?"

"Every day, I made you coffee!," Lance said as if it was some kind of accomplishment.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months..."

Donna had a flash of realization. "He was poisoning me?"

The Doctor took over now, speaking to Lance. "It was all there in the job title, the Head of Human Resources."

"This time it's personnel."

Lance and the Empress laughed.

"But we were getting married."

"Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavor Pringle! Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap, 'Oh, Brad and Angelina, is Posh pregnant?' X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia!"

The Doctor watched as Donna took this abuse, trying to understand the deception she had been the victim of. She seemed so crushed and she had been brilliant just a minute ago...

He really didn't like Lance.

"I deserve a medal!," Lance concluded.

"Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?"

"It's better than a night with her."

Really, not liking Lance.

"But I love you," Donna said plainly. Oh, how the Doctor wished she hadn't. It was the second time he had heard someone say that today and it was even sadder this time.

"That's what made it easy. It's like you said, Doctor, the big picture, what's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to... go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?"

Oh, he did.

That's what made it even more awful.

"Who is this little physician?," asked the Empress.

"What she said, Martian."

Oh, I'm sort of... homeless. But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

Lance looked at the Empress. "I think he wants us to talk."

"I think so, too."

"Well, that's tough! All we need is Donna!"

"Kill this chattering little doctor-man!"

Suddenly, Donna had seemingly shaken off all her disappointment and was in front of him, guarding him from the Roboforms. "Don't you hurt him!"

"No, no, it's alright..."

"No, I won't let them!"

"At arms!," shouted the Empress.

The Roboforms pointed their guns at the Doctor on her command.

"Ah, now," he said, "except-."

"Take aim!"

"Well, I just want to point out the obvious..."

"Oh, they won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots!"

"Just, just, just, hold on, just a tick, just a tiny, just a little, tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it... the spaceship comes to her."

He twisted the vial of Huon particles again and he, Donna and the webbed Rose materialized inside the TARDIS.

* * *

><p>Donna was surprised to be back in the TARDIS as the Doctor ran for the controls. She looked down at the floor where Rose was passed out.<p>

"Remember what you said about not having a time machine?," the Doctor asked. "Well, I lied and now we're going to use it."

Donna motioned at Rose. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Oh, yeah, just fine. We need to see what the Empress is hiding."

Donna looked down again to see that Rose had disappeared. "Where'd she go?"

"Oh," said the Doctor, peering over at the empty floor. "The TARDIS must have put her somewhere. She'll turn up."

Donna nodded and sat down in the jump seat.

This day had been destined for disaster, hadn't it? She had hounded Lance, but she had done it just because he thought maybe he needed a push and she wasn't getting any younger, which her mother loved to remind her of and it's not like she had been a bloody supermodel to start with. The tears were pouring down her cheeks as she considered it. Donna Noble, single, fat, stupid, temp, loser. She could add spider chum to her list of attributes.

"We've arrived," said the Doctor, "want to see?"

Donna shrugged. Why the hell not? "I suppose..."

"Oh, that scanner's a bit small, maybe the doorway's best..." He walked over to the door and motioned for her to join him. "Come on."

She walked over, resigned to her fate.

"No human's ever seen this," he added. "You'll be the first."

"All I want to see is my bed."

"Donna Noble, welcome to the creation of the Earth."

He flung open the doors on a spectacular site. All manner of light and dust somehow combining to form something... fantastic.

"We've gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas." He pointed at some bright light in front of them. "That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?," she asked.

He looked at her with obvious delight. "All around us, in the dust."

"Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just... tiny." I'm tiny, she thought. Miniscule, microscopic... Was there something smaller?

"No, but that's what you do. The human race. Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

She looked back at him. He was so in his element, that must have been why he was looking at her like that...

"So, I came out of all of this?"

"Isn't that brilliant?"

A rock passed.

"I think that's the Isle of Wight," said Donna.

The Doctor smiled. "Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the..."

"Earth," she finished.

"But the question is... what was that first rock?"

Suddenly, a star shaped rock appeared as if it was being dropped off...

"There," said Donna.

"The Racnoss..."

He rushed back to the controls and did something like putting it in fast forward!

"Donna, what's it doing?"

"Exactly what you said!"

He sprinted back. "Oh, they didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth... they became the center of the Earth. The first rock."

The TARDIS shuddered and the Doctor quickly shut the doors.

"What's that?," asked Donna.

"Trouble..." said the Doctor.

He flew back to the console as the ship continued to shake violently.

"What the hell's it doing?," she asked.

She watched as he operated the controls with seeming ineptitude, not that she could tell what any of them were supposed to do. "Remember that little trick I pulled? Particles pulling particles. It works in reverse, they're pulling us back!"

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"

"Backseat driver!" He pulled out something that looked even more alien than the rest of the phone box. "Oh! The extrapolator!" He hit it. "Now!"

He flew out of the box. Donna followed him.

"But what do we do?," she asked.

They were at the Thames Flood Barrier door again. He seemed to be listening to it with a stethiscope.

"I don't know! I make it up as I go along! But trust me, I've got a history."

"But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles - but what for?"

And then she was kidnapped by a Robot Santa for the second time that day. Then trapped in a spider web next to her fiance. Ex-fiance? She didn't have to return the ring, did she? Certainly not. To be toyed with by a giant spider and then Lance was gone...

Then the Doctor appeared again.

And he freed her from the web with that weird torch of his. Swinging over a giant pit and into a wall! What sort of rescue was this? Stupid Martian...

"Empress of the Racnoss," he said, "the last of your kind. I know what that feels like, to be so alone, to feel as if anything is justified, it makes you do terrible things..."

Yeah, like irritate a man into marrying you...

"I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

"I'm afraid I have to decline," she said.

"Then what happens next is your own doing."

Donna watched as suddenly there were explosions and water was filling the room and the Empress was screaming for her children and Donna actually felt sorry for her.

This day was getting weirder.

She looked up at the Doctor, just standing there, stiller than she had seen him all day.

Alone. Something terrible.

Did he just mean to stand there?

"Doctor!," she shouted.

He looked at her, a sudden realization that she was there, water seeming to sit in droplets on his eyelashes.

"You can stop!"

That seemed to switch him back on and he helped her out, sending her up the ladder before him which was sadly the best treatment she'd gotten from a bloke in about ten years, maybe more and said bloke was a Martian, add that to pathetic. Then they were out! They had made it and the Empress had been destroyed! And suddenly, they were clinging to each other, laughing.

"Just, there's one problem," said Donna.

"What's that?," asked the Doctor.

"We've drained the Thames."

He looked around and they collapsed laughing again.

* * *

><p>The Doctor followed Donna outside of the TARDIS in front of her parents' house.<p>

"There we go," said the Doctor. "Told you she'd be alright, she can survive anything."

"More than I've done," said Donna in her very wet, very ruined wedding dress, a fact she had been sure to note several times for him.

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her. "Nope! All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine. See? You can survive anything, too. You're a pair really."

"Yeah, but apart from that... I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of," she said with a shrug.

"I couldn't save him," said the Doctor. He supposed he would have tried, he could have imagined some other punishment for him. Stuck in the Middle Ages? Would that have been too much?

"He deserved it," said Donna, trying to stiffen.

He gave her a look. He knew at her reaction to the Empress' mourning she couldn't have.

"Not really," said Donna. "My own fault, really. Thinking anyone would want to marry me or like me..."

"I do!," said the Doctor, then he quickly supplemented that. "I do like you."

She shook her head. "I'm a pencil inside a mug, remember?"

"No, you're not. You were brilliant today."

"Dinosaurs," she added.

"You should hear some of the stupid things I've said."

She scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Besides, you weren't that far off! There are lizard people under the Earth, well, when I say lizard people, they're call Silurians and they sort of went there because they thought the moon was going to crash into the planet."

"Yeah," said Donna, "that is pretty stupid."

"You could come with me, you could hear them all yourself, it's constant."

Donna smiled. "Yeah, doubt that Rose would like that."

"Why should it matter to her?"

"You two are..."

Well, Donna had a way of finding a sore subject. "No, we're not."

She narrowed her gaze at him. "You said you were the last of your kind."

"I am."

"And being alone, I know something about that, believe me. You said you had done something terrible."

He had, hadn't he? She certainly had a way of zeroing in on things.

"What did you do?," asked Donna.

"I... I let her think something that I shouldn't have, I never said it, but she..."

Donna nodded. "Yeah, been there."

"Being alone, being really, truly alone is terrifying and I didn't want to be that anymore and she was good for me, for a while and then I started to wonder if I was any good for her, but..."

"You didn't want to be alone."

"There was this..." he struggled. "The day with the Cybermen and the Daleks..."

"Scuba diving," she reminded him.

"Yeah," he said. "I tried to send her away, for her own good, to another dimension, to be with her family, with people that loved her and she... came back. And now she can never see them again. Now, I'm all she has."

"You don't love her, though."

He didn't answer. He didn't have to. Donna had seen right through him.

She sighed. "Okay, it may be none of my business, but you save me life today-"

"You saved mine."

She nodded. "Yeah, well, the thing is, the longer you keep on letting her think you love her, the worse it's going to be when you finally have to. Especially with the way she looks at you, it's like she's staked a claim."

The Doctor nodded. Some sense to that. The thing with Sarah Jane, Madame de Pompadour, blimey, even the way she'd reacted when he said that waitress in Pete's World, Lucy, had told him about who was at the party.

"Come with me," he said.

"No," said Donna, "I don't think so."

"But you've seen it," he said. "It's wonderful."

"Yeah, a little too wonderful for me," she said. "I couldn't do that."

"Too wonderful?"

"Yeah, sorry, thanks, though..."

And she was walking away. And she was back in the house, getting hugs from her parents.

Well, he couldn't stop her from that. Already made that mistake...

He went back to the TARDIS and put it in the Vortex, waiting for Rose to wake up. He sat on the jump seat and wondered what to do.

Rose came out eventually, looking groggy.

"Was I in a spider web?," she asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"All in a day, I suppose," she said with a smile. "So, where's Donna?"

The way she said it. Donna had been right on that one...

"She's gone home," said the Doctor.

"Oh. Good for her." She smiled. "Where we off to then?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor, trying to put his standard cheerful spin on the proposition. "How about a mystery tour? Set the controls to random..." He flew to the controls and started pressing buttons and the ship landed. "Outside that door is anywhere, any when..."

"Why haven't we done this before?," Rose asked with an excited grin.

The Doctor shrugged and bounded out the door quickly followed by Rose.

"We're in London," she said disappointedly.

"Yeah, but it's five months later," he said, catching the date on a sign. Still, it was curious why the TARDIS had just taken them back to London and why she was parked in front of Royal Hope Hospital.

Then he saw a flash of ginger hair going down the street.

Then he saw the plasma coils situated around the building.

"Are we off then?," asked Rose.

"No," said the Doctor. "We should stay."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next time: Smith &amp; Noble <strong>_


	3. Smith & Noble, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna, Rose or anything. Also a reminder, this is a revisiting of Series 3 heavily influenced by my own Doctor-Donna shippiness. So, you were warned and for this I apologize to no one except Martha Jones, so please indulge me:

Dear Martha Jones,

At this time, I would like to issue an apology. See, I wrote Donna in this story and Rose and it was your story, but now if I keep you around for the duration, you're just saying a bunch of stuff and probably rooting for Team Donna, let's face it. I don't feel like that's fair because you were so awesome and you walked the Earth and were a total bad ass and had character growth unlike some companions, but some people seem to hate you. There are only two reasons I think people hate you. One, you weren't Rose, but I don't care what they think anyway. Two, you had a crush on Ten, because yeah, NO ONE HAS EVER HAD A CRUSH ON TEN, no one reading this has ever had a crush on ten. That's just unthinkable. So, rather than make you the minor supporting character in your own story which is what people usually do to you from what I've seen, I'm writing you out with plans to bring you back down the line. I'll let you know more then.

Thanks,

JunoInferno

P.S. Thanks again for walking the Earth. I don't think I would have done it.

Housekeeping note: I know I did the first story in two parts but that is way too much story for me at once, so I'm going to try three or four parts for each story/episode/whatever we want to call it. Thanks for the reads, reviews and follows. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>May. It was May and Donna could not get over her Christmas Eve.<p>

Granted, it had been an eventful one.

She really was starting to consider the possibility that she ought to take off the biodamper. Her family had questioned her about it, she had claimed it was just a piece of costume jewelry she was wearing and said she was using it to put off men for a while, just so she could get her head wrapped around things. Her mother had laughed, saying she didn't need to wear a wedding ring to do that! Yes, that was helpful.

She had gone through these months like she had so many others. One job to another, only somehow it was worse now. She had everyone wondering what happened, not to mention Lance's mysterious disappearance. The general consensus was that Donna had finally done something to scare him out of the country.

So, she worked. Sometimes she didn't feel like it, though. She wouldn't answer her mobile and oops, she missed another job. She had sold the engagement ring, not to mention some presents she might have taken back from his flat.

And possibly that stupid flat screen television he wouldn't let her touch because it was too sensitive! What the hell? They were going to be married anyway! Even if it was just his plan to feed her to a giant spider, she deserved half of his property. Though, she finally stopped herself in fear that someone would decide that she had killed Lance and her defense would be no, a giant spider had done it and they could confirm it with the space alien that lived in the blue box.

So, she had yet another day off and her grandfather, Wilf, wasn't feeling well again, just like on Christmas when he had to miss Donna's wedding, which devastated him at the time but had turned out not to be too much of a loss. He still wanted the full details on the disaster, he had always loved a good story and Donna was doing her best to put him off, but it was getting harder and harder. It just seemed so strange that she had that one mad, extraordinary day and then life just went on, but now it seemed less than it had been.

Or maybe that was just her.

As she walked into the hospital with a carrier bag of creature comforts for her grandfather, a man in all black leather and a helmet bumped into her.

"Oi!," she shouted. "You mind watching where you're going?"

The man stopped and stared at Donna.

"Yeah, Stig's Evil Cousin, I'm talking to you!"

The man continued on. Donna marched inside, feeling slightly better.

* * *

><p>The Doctor was starting to enjoy being in hospital.<p>

Lying in his jim jams, being served meals thrice daily and he loved his neighbor, Wilf. They could talk until the nurses' ears bled and had been instructed to be quiet more than once.

And he didn't like to admit, he liked the respite from Rose, especially after what she had said. In their adventure with Donna, the same jealousy she'd demonstrated towards Sarah Jane and Madame de Pompadour had resurfaced. She didn't seem to have a high opinion of Donna at all and he couldn't understand why. She was kind and compassionate, strong-minded. If she came off a bit unpleasant, it was probably just because she had the sort of family and friends who had started the reception without her. Without her? If he had been her fiance, he would have driven himself mad searching for her and certainly never would have started a party without her, regardless of whether or not it was paid for!

Had he just imagined being her fiance?

Better than imagining being her husband.

What a wife she would be...

"This is the worst thing you have ever made me do," said Rose.

The Doctor turned to see Rose at his bedside in her hospital volunteer uniform. It had a red polo shirt with a name badge on it.

"Oh, good, they've gotten you sorted then?"

"They put me at the information desk, I have to spend all day giving directions. And last night I kept having to lead this old lady away from the blood bank."

"Yeah, but you got ths shirt at least," the Doctor said cheerfully.

"Rose, dear?," a woman said

Rose turned. An older woman in the same uniform was standing nearby.

"Rose, what are you doing up here?"

"I was just giving this patient some directions."

"Hello," the Doctor said with a wave.

The woman gave a polite smile and turned her attention to Rose. "Who's manning the information desk?"

"It's just been a few minutes," said Rose.

"Such a shame if someone should want directions in those few minutes."

Rose gave the Doctor a look and headed off with the woman who kept whispering to her about the unseemliness of flirting with the patients. Just then Wilf returned again.

"Your friend visiting again?," he asked.

"Yeah, she does that. How was your walk? You cut it short."

"Don't want to take too long, my granddaughter's supposed to be visiting today. Good to be out of bed, though."

"I don't know, this isn't so bad."

"If I don't get out soon, I'll miss my holiday. I'm supposed to go caravanning with my daughter and her husband. Ever been caravanning?"

"Not as such," answered the Doctor.

"You ought to try it, get out there, see some of the countryside. A man can't spend his whole life working."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said the Doctor.

Wilf sighed. "Oh, look, the Spanish Inquisition."

The Doctor turned to look. It was the consultant, Mr. Stoker leading the medical students on their morning rounds like a row of ducklings. Of course, ducklings weren't as nervous as this lot were, though the Doctor supposed they had more reason to be.

"Mister Mott, how are we this morning?," asked Stoker, stopping by Wilf's bed first.

"Not so bad, I ought to be ready to go home soon," said Wilf.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that." He turned to the students. "Wilfred Mott, admitted last week with respiratory distress..." He appointed one of the male students to begin a battery of questions for Wilf and finished off the analysis with some orders for the nurse, then came over to the Doctor's bed.

"Now then, Mr. Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?"

"Aw, not so bad, still a bit, you know. Blah," he said with an exaggerated sticking out of his tongue.

Stoker turned back to his students. "John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."

The Doctor smiled as a pretty young woman came up and took out her stethoscope. "Sorry," she said with a friendly apology, "this might just be a bit cold."

She put the stethoscope to his chest and the Doctor saw a look of confusion on her face, obviously troubled by the sound of two hearts beating. She fumbled around with it.

"I weep for future generations," interrupted Stoker. "Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?"

She looked again at the Doctor in befuddlement and he winked at her. She stood up straight, having obviously decided that what she had heard was some sort of trick of her mind. "Um, I don't know, stomach cramps?"

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis," said Stoker. "And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart."

Stoker picked up the chart off the edge of the Doctor's bed and got shocked by static electricity, then dropped it quickly onto the bed.

"That happened to me this morning," said Miss Jones.

"That happened to me on the door handle," added a male student.

"Ane me on the lift," a young Indian woman added.

"That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by - anyone?"

There was silence, so the Doctor answered. "Benjamin Franklin."

Stoker seemed surprised. "Correct."

"My mate Ben, that was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked."

"Quite," said Stoker.

"And then I got electrocuted," added the Doctor.

"Moving on," said Stoker, eager to get away from the madman. He turned to a nurse. "Perhaps a visit from psychiatric might be in order."

The medical students departed in the same line they had arrived in and in their wake, the Doctor spotted Donna Noble.

"Donna!," Wilf cried happily. "There's my girl! Come to see your old gramps! Meet my neighbor, John."

Donna stared at the Doctor, mouth wide open, in disbelief.

"Hello," said the Doctor.

"Hi," said Donna sharply.

The fact that he was grinning like an idiot was not helping him. Donna walked over to her grandfather's bedside.

"I brought you some more books," said Donna, "and some crossword puzzles."

Wilf opened the carrier bag to examine the loot as Donna started mouthing words to the Doctor, as if to say What the hell are you doing here? The Doctor shrugged and she rolled her eyes at him. Wilf looked up.

"No sweets?," he asked.

"You're supposed to be ill, remember?," asked Donna.

"Not even some Cadbury flakes for your old granddad?"

"I like Jelly Babies," said the Doctor.

Donna looked at him as if ths was the most stupid statement she had ever heard or possibly had ever been uttered in the history of mankind.

"Mum sent along your good slippers," said Donna coolly as she motioned at the corridor to the Doctor.

He pointed in confusion and she nodded.

Donna looked back at Wilf. "I'm just going to get us both a cup of tea and we can have a nice chat."

Donna left. Pleased, the Doctor put on his dressing gown and went in pursuit of her.

* * *

><p>Rose was very bored as she sat at the information desk, the rainy day matching her mood. This job wasn't exactly as exciting as she was used to with the Doctor. She couldn't decide if this was better or worse than being a dinner lady at the Krillitane school. On the one hand, at least she had something to do there. All she could do here was give directions and chase after the elderly patients who tried to wander outside.<p>

She tried to pass the time doing things that normal people did, looking at the Internet, watching the news, all about the election that was coming up. She lost track of life on Earth on the TARDIS. It hadn't been that long since she had been home and seen her mother.

Yet now she never would. Never again.

She didn't like thinking about that.

Rose looked up to see that there was a gathering around the windows, some sort of commotion. She got up and walked over to see what the fuss was about.

The rain was going up.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked down the corridor, checking the rooms and getting a strange stare from Miss Jones as she chatted on her mobile about a party or something. Where had Donna gone? Had he misunderstood? Suddenly, Donna grabbed the Doctor by the collar of his dressing gown and pulled him into the janitorial cupboard.<p>

"What are you doing here?," she hissed, flicking on the light.

"More importantly, what are we doing in the cupboard?," asked the Doctor. "What have you brought me in here for?"

"Don't get any ideas," she said sharply. "Now, seriously, what are you doing here?"

The Doctor then realized if he told Donna about the plasma coils, she might freak out, so he tried to think of a clever lie to buy him time.

As he did, Donna's face dropped. "Oh, God, you're here."

"Yeah, I think we've established that..."

"No, that means something awful is going on. What is it? Zombies? Organ harvesting? Are they running horrifying experiments on the patients? Your breath smells like bananas." She paused. "I've got to get my grandfather out of here."

Donna opened the door to the cupboard, the Doctor stepped out behind her, getting curious glances from some of the staff as they walked by. He hurried to catch up.

"You know, you walk incredibly fast."

"I usually do when I have to save my loved ones from giant insects."

"Who said anything about giant insects?"

"Just figured considering last time."

"A spider's not an insect."

"As if I care."

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, the building rocked. Donna fell into the Doctor's arms and they ended up on the floor.

"It's dark," Donna said. "It was morning, how can it be dark?"

The Doctor looked out the nearest window. "Oh, it's still morning."

He helped Donna up as she dusted herself off. "But it's dark," she protested.

"Well, funny thing actually..."

That's when they heard the first screams. Donna hurried back to the ward and her grandfather's bed. Wilf was staring out the window mesmerized.

"Gramps, are you alright?," she asked.

"Oh, I'm better than alright, sweetheart," said Wilf. "Look at that!"

Donna looked across and out the window.

"We're on the Moon," said Donna.

"Yes, we are," said Wilf with clear delight.

Donna turned back to the Doctor's curtain which was now pulled closed. "Why are we on the Moon?"

The Doctor flung the curtain open, now dressed in his blue suit and red Chuck Taylors. He was about to start an impressive answer when Donna interrupted with another question.

"How did you get changed so fast? Are you bloody Superman?"

"The plasma coils," he said somewhat thrown off.

"The what?," she asked.

"See, that's why I stopped here, there were plasma coils outside the hospital, it's been building up for two days, must be some sort of transportation system. Fancy a better look?"

"What?," asked Donna.

The Doctor started walking away. Donna looked back at her grandfather in disbelief.

"I think you ought to go look after him, sweetheart," said Wilf. "He's got a few screws loose if you know what I mean, but he is single."

"Are you trying to set me up with him?," Donna asked in disbelief.

"You've got to be less picky, Donna," said Wilf.

"No wonder I'm still single with help like that," Donna muttered as she marched off.

* * *

><p>Donna walked down the corridor and found the Doctor on the veranda. He looked at her smiling.<p>

"Don't you want to know how the air works?," he asked Donna.

She shook her head. "Is it like your blue box? Protective shield or whatever?"

"Uh, yeah," he said somewhat deflated.

Donna looked out at the vista before them. The Earth was just hanging there and here they were, amongst so much magnificent desolation, valleys and peaks never walked on, never touched.

"It's beautiful," she said.

"Do you think?," he asked.

"Well, duh," said Donna. "To be honest, I never really wanted to go to the Moon, never thought about it but now, here we are."

"Standing in the Earthlight," the Doctor said.

Donna smiled. "Yeah..."

"Doctor!," shouted Rose as the door opened.

"Oh, good," said Donna.

Donna turned to face Rose who looked shocked to see her. She looked at the Doctor.

"What's she doing here?," she asked.

"Hello to you, too," said Donna.

"It's just," Rose began, "we're on the Moon. How did the hospital get to be on the Moon?"

"Plasma coils," answered Donna.

Rose glared at her. "I was asking the Doctor."

"Well, I was here for that part," said Donna, which only elicited a scowl.

"Yeah, plasma coils," said the Doctor.

"So, that's why the rain was going up?," asked Rose.

The Doctor frowned. "The rain was going up?"

"Yeah. Didn't you see it?"

"Oh, no, I must have been in the cupboard."

"Why were you in a cupboard?"

"Never mind that," said the Doctor, "question is, who would bring the hospital to the Moon?"

They heard a roar in the dark sky above them and three cylindrical rockets appeared and landed vertically on the soft regolith. Giant creatures in black uniforms started marching out.

"Who are they, Doctor?," asked Rose.

"Judoon," he answered soberly.

"Oh, good," said Donna. "More aliens. Are you lot having a convention?"

"Don't be stupid," said Rose.

"Yeah," said the Doctor, turning to face Donna. "That's not for another year. Allons-y!"

He gleefully ran back inside. Donna and Rose followed.


	4. Smith & Noble, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or Rose. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Sorry it's been so long since the last update on this story, I've been, ill, injured and sleep-deprived as of late, but I'm finally catching up so the next parts should come quicker than this one did, even though it's short. So, happy reading and please enjoy.

* * *

><p>Rose and Donna followed the Doctor down to the balcony overlooking the hospital entrance. They watched as the Judoon strode in. The lead Judoon took his helmet off revealing a Rhinoceros like head. He shone a light into the face of one of the medical students and the others did the same to the people cowering on the floor.<p>

"Oh, a little shop!," exclaimed the Doctor. "They've got a little shop! Rose, why didn't you tell me there was a little shop?"

Donna slapped him on the arm.

"What was that for?," he asked.

"Do you mind concentrating on the Rhino men who just walked in the front door?"

"Fair enough." He paused. "You didn't slap me on the face, that's something."

She narrowed her gaze. "I'll slap you again if you don't keep your attention focused."

"Right, well the Judoon are police, more like thugs for hire."

"And they transported the hospital to the Moon?," asked Rose.

"No," said Donna, turning to return Rose's condescension, "it came on its own."

"I was just asking."

"Neutral territory," said the Doctor. "According to Galactic law, the Judoon have no jurisdiction over the Earth."

"So what?," asked Donna. "Are they after you?"

"No!," said the Doctor. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you seem like the sort of bloke who gets in trouble. A lot. How many warrants do you have?"

Rose tsked. "The Doctor doesn't-"

"Three hundred and ninety," said the Doctor, "but that's hardly the point. They aren't after me. At least, I don't think they're after me."

The Doctor looked over at the Judoon. "Oh, they're making a catalogue. Looking for something non-Human."

Donna sighed. "So, you then?"

"Well, not me, me!," the Doctor protested. "Come on, I've got to get to a computer."

He grabbed Donna's hand and hurried off as Rose followed. He led them into an abandoned nurses' station and started using the sonic screwdriver on the computer.

"What's wrong with this computer? The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon Platoon, upon the Moon..."

"What are they looking for?," asked Rose.

"Something that looks human, but isn't," he answered.

"But not you," said Donna.

"No, not me! Not this time anyway!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "And this thing that looks human, but isn't? How do we find it?"

"Don't they have a photo or something?," asked Rose.

"Might be a shape changer."

"Why don't you just hide out and let the Judoon find it?," asked Donna.

"Well, if they find it, they might declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive and sentence it to execution."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, there it is."

"There's what?," asked Rose.

"There's whatever horrible thing was going to happen around him."

"Yes, but if I can find it first..." He hit the computer monitor. "Oh, do you see? They're thick, Judoon are thick, they're so completely thick, they've wiped the records! That's clever!"

"And yeah, we're looking for what?," asked Donna.

"I don't know, any patient admitted in the last week with unusual symptoms." He kept working at the computer. "Maybe there's a backup."

"I don't remember anyone unusual," said Rose.

"Right," said Donna. "Why don't I just go ask someone who might know what they're talking about?" She looked at the Doctor. "You keep working. Have you tried rebooting it? How about system restore?"

"System restore?," snorted Rose.

"Or just unplug it and plug it back in. Usually works for me."

"I hadn't thought of that!," exclaimed the Doctor, leaning down to pull the power cord as Donna left.

Rose looked at the Doctor. "What's she doing here?"

"Her granddad's sick," he said sitting back up, waiting for the Windows startup screen to finish.

"Yeah, but we just met her a few days ago and the TARDIS randomly takes us to someplace with her?"

"Maybe the TARDIS likes her."

"So what? So, now she's coming with us because the TARDIS likes her?"

The Doctor grimaced internally. She was doing it again. "I think she's brilliant," he said.

"She's just a temp."

He glared back and Rose weakened. "And you were just a girl who worked in a shop, remember? Now, either help me or be quiet."

* * *

><p>Donna walked down to Mr. Stoker's office, a place she had been many times since her grandfather first got here. She hadn't impressed her thus far, the first time they met she thought he was a little too concerned with getting to his reservation at Gordon Ramsay's and not concerned enough with her grandfather. She loathed the way he condescended to the students, but in her experience, jackasses usually knew what they were talking about for some reason. If there was an unusual patient, he would know, at least much better than blondie had.<p>

She knocked. "Excuse me, hello, remember me?" She looked across the room and saw two of the Stig's Evil Cousins and an old woman, sucking out what remained of Mister Stoker with a straw.

That was probably unusual enough, Donna reckoned.

"Get her!," said the woman and Donna turned to run as the Stig's evil cousins ran after her.

She ran down the corridor, loathing how her sandals were digging into her feet and ran into the Doctor and Rose.

"Unplugging it didn't work," said Rose with some satisfaction.

"There was this old lady!," said Donna, panting, she pointed behind her. "Stig's evil cousin!"

"Stig's Evil Cousin?," asked the Doctor befuddled. He then looked down the corridor where Donna had come from to see the leather slab running in their direction. "Stig's Evil Cousin!," he shouted and grabbed Donna's hand again, Rose behind them.

They ran down the stairs, the slab hot on their heels, nightmarishly close. They ran out onto one of the technical floors, the corridors were empty of the panicked people crowding the rest of the hospital. He ran into an X-Ray room, pulling Donna along.

"Get behind the glass!," he shouted. "When I say now, press the button!"

"What button, Doctor?," asked Rose.

Donna picked the X-Ray machine manual up off the counter, still breathless. "Yeah, working on it."

The slab was banging on the door. The Doctor stuck the sonic screwdriver in the top of the X-Ray camera and pointed it at the door. The slab burst through as Donna found the correct instruction.

"Now!," shouted the Doctor.

Donna hit the big red button wondering why they needed a whole instruction manual for that. There was a massive flash and they could see the Doctor's skeleton, then the slab toppled over.

Rose jumped out. "What did you do?"

"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent," he answered. "Killed him dead."

"And what about you?," asked Rose.

"Nah, I've absorbed it all. Used to play with Rontgen bricks in the nursery." He looked at Donna, still behind the glass. "It's safe. You can come out."

Donna walked out.

"All I need to do is expel it, say, if I concentrate and shift the radiation out of my body and into one spot - say, my left shoe-" He started dancing around, hopping on his right foot, grunting and shouting. Rose laughed as Donna rolled her eyes. Oh, it itches!" He took off the shoe and threw it into the waste bin.

Donna looked him up and down. "You finished?"

The Doctor looked down at his feet. "You're right. I look daft with one shoe." He took off the other shoe and tossed it into the bin as well. He wiggled his toes. "Barefoot on the Moon."

Donna cracked a smile. "What's he then?"

The Doctor knelt down. "Slabs. They're called slabs. Solid leather all the way through," he said, knocking on it.

"God, don't touch it," said Donna. "Fetish? You have no idea what's on that!"

"Right," said the Doctor, going to retrieve his sonic screwdriver.

"There was this old lady, she was drinking Mister Stoker with a straw."

"My sonic screwdriver!," he whined.

"Doctor!," said Donna.

"I love my sonic screwdriver!"

"Pay attention!," Donna shouted.

"Right," said the Doctor, tossing the mangled screwdriver aside. "Old lady, drinking Mister Stoker. Funny time to take a snack, you'd think she'd be hiding, unless... No! Yes! That's it! Wait a minute... Yes! Shape-changer, internal shape-changer! She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it, if she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, she can mimic the biology. She'll register as Human!"

"Oh, wizard," said Donna.

"So, we'll find her and show the Judoon to her, yeah?," said Rose.

"Yeah, because it'll be that easy," said Donna.

They started back down the stairs to Mister Stoker's office. Donna saw some of the medical students, helping people with oxygen masks and tanks.

"Doctor," said Rose, "what happens when all the air runs out?"

Donna sighed. "Come on. This way."

They saw Mister Stoker, laying on the floor, ashen gray, eyes wide open.

"Oh, I was right," said the Doctor. "Plasmavore."

"What's she doing on Earth?," asked Rose.

"Hiding, on the run, probably. Still, back to it, gotta find her now, before the Judoon execute us all."

Donna sighed. She took a blanket off the sofa and laid it over Mister Stoker as the Doctor watched.

"Think, think, think," the Doctor said in the hallway, "if I was a plasmavore, surrounded by police, what would I do?" He stopped. "Oh, she's almost as clever as me..."

They heard a crash and turned. The Judoon were stomping down the corridor.

"Find the non-human!," shouted the leader. "Execute!"

The Doctor turned back to Donna. "You have to distract them."

She threw her arms up. "Oh, sure, why don't I just tap dance?"

Suddenly, he took her face in his hands and was snogging her. Truth be told, he was rather good at it. That was nice with his tongue. He was so gentle, but definitely not shy. God, this was the best kiss Donna had in...

Oh, God, no, it was the best kiss she had ever had.

Her life was so pathetic.

The Doctor broke off the kiss as Rose stood slack-jawed, which he failed to notice.

Donna slapped him. "What the hell was that for?," she shouted.

"Um, yeah," he said surprised by how enthusiastically he'd conducted that genetic transfer and the slap. "Uh, see you later."

He ran off towards the MRI room as the stomp of boots got closer. Rose was still too shocked to move. Donna turned to look down the corridor as the Judoon approached.


	5. Smith & Noble, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or Rose or Series 3. If I did, things would have been different as I have made perfectly clear. Thanks for the reads and reviews, glad you're having fun. Anyway, please enjoy and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna waited as the Judoon approached. They took Rose first, she was still frozen like a statue after that kiss as they pushed her against the wall and scanned her with the light.<p>

"Yeah, look, rhino boys," said Donna, "there's this plasma-whatever lady, she looks like an old woman, she's the one you're looking for-"

The Judoon leader scanned Donna with the light. "Non-human, wait, human, non-human element confirmed, authorize full scan!"

Donna groaned as the Judoon leader pushed her against the wall. "Stupid Martian," she muttered..

The scan went on a few moments.

"Human confirmed," pronounced the Judoon leader, marking her hand. "Traces of facial contact with non-human."

"Tongue contact more like," said Donna as Rose regained enough use of her facial muscles to glare.

The Judoon leader handed Donna a piece of paper with funny writing.

"You will need this."

"What for?"

"Compensation."

"Oh, good," said Donna, "the day's not a total loss."

"Continue the search!"

The Judoon marched on. Donna started after them. Rose followed her.

"He kissed you," she said.

Donna rolled her eyes, not looking back as she kept a brisk pace. "Yeah, I was there."

"What did he kiss you for?"

"Obviously because he's madly in love with me," she said. "That whole thing with transferring some Time Lord saliva to me to create a distraction while he tries to save our lives before the air runs out was just a clever ploy!"

They walked into the MRI room where the old lady stood over the Doctor collapsed on the floor, looking as pale as a ghost as the slab stood at the wings.

"Doctor!," screamed Rose, as one of the Judoon held her back.

"Confirmation deceased," said the Judoon leader.

"But it's her, she killed him!," protested Donna.

"You're the old lady from the blood bank," said Rose.

"Judoon have no authority over human crime," said the Judoon.

"Well, she's not-" Donna paused. "You drank his blood?"

"I'm as human as they come," she said with a smug smile, "I've been cataloged."

"Then let's just catalog you again," said Donna, swiping the scanner off the nearest Judoon. She shone the light on the old lady.

"I don't mind," she said, "scan me all you like."

"Non-human," pronounced the lead Judoon.

All of the Judoon took out their scanners and started scanning the old lady.

"Analysis confirmed!"

"But, that's a mistake," she protested, "it's got to be, I'm human, I'm as human as they come!"

"Confirm: Plasmavore! Charged with the crime of murdering the Child Princess of Padrivole Regency Nine!"

"And she deserved it! Those pink cheeks and blonde curls, and that simpering voice, oh, she was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore!"

Donna sighed. "What is with aliens wanting to eat people?"

"Then you confess?"

"I'm proud of it!," she said. "Slab, stop them!"

The remaining slab stepped forward and the Judoon disintegrated it as the old lady ran behind the partition from the MRI machine.

"Verdict: guilty! Sentence: execution!"

"Enjoy your victory, Judoon! Because you're going to burn with me, burn in hell!," she cackled as the Judoon blasted her away.

"Case closed," said the Judoon.

Rose ran towards the Doctor on the floor. Donna looked at the MRI machine as it buzzed with blue bolts occasionally coming out of it.

"Oi! Rhino police! What's she done?," asked Donna pointing at the scanner.

The Judoon captain assessed the situation. "Begin evacuation!"

"Wait, where do you think you're going?," asked Donna as they marched out. "I'm talking to you! Oi, what's the name of your supervisor? You are going to be in a world of trouble if you don't bloody come back and fix this!"

Donna looked back at Rose, still sobbing over the Doctor.

"Oh, God," said Donna. She shoved Rose off him. "Out of my way."

"But she sucked out his blood! How is that going to help?"

"Yeah, let's try your idea: nothing!"

"Do you even know CPR?," asked Rose.

"Scuba diving, duh," said Donna, pressing his chest. She knelt down to listen. "Wait, does he have two hearts?"

"Yeah," said Rose.

"You might have mentioned that!," shouted Donna. She worked on the left side of his chest.

"I'm getting dizzy," said Rose.

"Yeah, probably the lack of air." She took a deep breath and leaned down to breathe into the Doctor as Rose collapsed. She fell against the floor as the Doctor rose, coughing.

He looked at her bewildered.

"The scanner," Donna said hazily. "Fix it, stupid, skinny... martian..."

Donna collapsed against the floor as the Doctor struggled to get to the MRI controls. He reached for the sonic screwdriver and realized it was gone. He looked at the wires. He had it down to the red or the blue as the lightning coming out of the MRI machine increased. Finally, he pulled the red wire and it stopped as he coughed again, crawling over between Donna and Rose. He looked over at Donna and took her hand in his, waiting for the Judoon to make it right.

He heard thunder and lightning and grinned.

"It's raining, Donna, raining on the Moon."

* * *

><p>Donna opened her eyes to see the Doctor sitting next to her.<p>

"I had better not be dead," she said.

"No. We're fine. Back on Earth, safe and sound." He motioned out the open door at the evacuation underway. "See?"

He helped her sit up. She looked over at Rose.

"Still unconscious?"

"She's fine. Everyone's system is different."

"Yeah, Mister Two Hearts," said Donna.

"Yeah..."

Donna bolted up. "Gramps!"

Donna ran upstairs, back to her grandfather's bedside.

"Gramps!," said Donna, throwing her arms around him.

"I'm fine, sweetheart," said Wilf. "Don't you worry. Survived the war, a little trip to the Moon can't hurt me!"

"I'm glad you're alright."

"So, where's John?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "He's fine. Sort of saved the day, actually."

"Well, then, your old granddad might know what he's talking about then?," Wilf asked with a smile.

"Not like that."

"Why not?" Now he seemed offended. Her grandfather was trying to set her up with a Martian and he was the one who was offended.

"Yeah, it's just not happening," said Donna.

* * *

><p>Donna spent the rest of the day getting Wilf settled back home and listening to her mother's endless questions about the incident. The news apparently decided the entire hospital had been drugged while the hospital simultaneously disappeared. "It's as if you plan these things!," Sylvia finally exclaimed. Donna excused herself from dinner just in time to avoid being set up that weekend or forced to accompany her parents and grandfather on the caravanning trip. She could do without the wonders of Dorset. She got on the tube and walked down the road from the station to her flat and saw a blue box and a ridiculously skinny man standing outside her building.<p>

"Are you just going to stalk me?," asked Donna. "How do I get a restraining order on Mars?"

"You turned me down."

"What? Do you think you look so good in that suit no woman can resist you?"

He shifted nervously. "No, I mean, you turned me down and you're in the next place I turn up."

"Well, I'm not doing it," said Donna. "I'm not the one with a time machine."

"Well, I'm not!"

Donna crossed her arms. "What is this? Are you going to keep hounding me?"

"I came to see if you had changed your mind."

Donna shook her head. "No, I couldn't."

"No," said the Doctor. "I saw you on Christmas. I saw you today. You can, you definitely can."

"What about your little friend?"

"Well, I think eventually you will have to call her by her name. Rose is asleep, thinks we're in the Time Vortex."

"No, I mean, is she going to boil my pet rabbit or something?"

"You have a pet rabbit?"

"No, I..." She groaned. "Haven't you seen Fatal Attraction?"

"Rose and I aren't like that. At all."

"Well, she certainly thinks you are." She paused. "Oh, my God, you don't want to be alone with her, do you?"

"What? No..."

"I had this friend, Doris. She met this bloke on the internet and moved to Australia to live with him and then when she started driving him mad, he didn't have the heart to break up with her since she moved all that way to be with him."

"What happened?"

"They've been married ten years."

"They learned to get along?," the Doctor asked hopefully.

"No. She just hounded him so long that he gave in out of guilt. Which, you know, is your future so enjoy that."

"Please come along."

She scoffed. "As what? Your chaperone? Don't you have some other friend you can make come along?"

The Doctor thought. "No."

"What? You mean she is your only friend?"

The Doctor didn't answer.

"God, you are hopeless," said Donna. She sighed. "I have a new job that starts Monday."

"I can have you back Sunday night."

"I would miss Election Day," she said.

"Were you going to vote?"

"You don't think I vote? I don't have opinions?"

"No, I think you definitely have opinions."

She put her hand on her hip. "Do you want me to come along or not, skinny boy?"

"Yes."

"Fine! But it had better not all be disasters, there had better be a beach somewhere."

"I can do a beach."

"Good." Donna turned to go back in the building.

"What are you doing?," the Doctor asked frantically.

Donna turned around. "Going up to my flat."

"But you said you were coming."

"Do I look like I've packed?," asked Donna. "I'm supposed to travel all through time of space with these bloody sandals that have been rubbing into my foot all day, a pack of gum and a tenner? That sounds like a brilliant plan! And I should call my mum. So, no need to get all upset, just give me ten minutes. Maybe fifteen."

The Doctor looked at the TARDIS door, then Donna as she walked in the building. "I'll help you!," he said brightly.

* * *

><p>The Doctor helped Donna pack about eight bags and a hat box that he was now hauling through the TARDIS corridors.<p>

"What do you need a hatbox for?," asked the Doctor.

"Planet of the Hats," replied Donna.

"Oh, did you want to go there first?"

She cast him a look.

"Oh, you were joking."

"Yeah..."

"Now, I have to warn you," he said, readjusting the luggage, "the TARDIS can be funny about new people. Sometimes she makes things a little difficult."

"Your ship's a woman?," asked Donna. Just like a bloke...

"Well, she's sentient and she has her own opinions and isn't afraid to express them," he said. "See? I told you that you two were a pair."

"Where am I sleeping?"

"Well, you just sort of walk around until you see your door."

"What about that one?," asked Donna, pointing at the door in front of them. She opened it and walked in.

The room was about the size of the Claridge's penthouse an old boyfriend had snuck Donna in to see once in hopes of getting a quickie out of it. It hadn't worked. Donna had informed him he would have to at least get the room for the night if he wanted sex out of it.

"Oh, yeah," said Donna, "she really hates people."

The Doctor was puzzled. His room wasn't this big. Maybe the TARDIS did like her. He put Donna's bags down as she walked around, inspecting the room. She opened the door to look at the en suite.

"There's a jacuzzi in there," said Donna.

"Oh," said the Doctor. "Well, kitchen's somewhere down the hall. Swimming pool, karaoke bar, it'll take a while to get your bearings."

"Where do you sleep?," asked Donna.

"Oh, somewhere," said the Doctor. "I'll let you rest then and we can start fresh in the morning!"

"Well," said Donna, flopping down on the huge bed. "Good night then."

"Good night, Donna," the Doctor said with a smile.

The Doctor stepped out of the room and prepared himself for the search for his room only to find the TARDIS had placed his door directly across from Donna's room.

* * *

><p>Next Time: The Shakespeare Code. Fun fact: this episode takes place in 1599 and Shakespeare scholars think Much Ado About Nothing was possibly written in 1599. Wonder if that could turn out to be anything...<p> 


	6. The Shakespeare Code, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, especially Doctor Who Series 3, so to review there are spoilers for that in here and there is also unabashed Doctor-Donna-ness happening. Rose fans, I don't know how you got this far in this story, but consider yourself warned. Let me say, thanks for the reads and all the reviews. I'm glad you like it. Sorry I took so long updating, but I was sick, then I was injured and I'm training for this ten mile race. If I could type while running, I would, but no luck so far. Also, I have some other stories reaching a critical point, which you may be aware of, so... Hope you enjoy this one and please keep the reviews coming if you are so inclined.

* * *

><p>Rose had never been on what one might consider friendly terms with the TARDIS, but ever since the Battle of Canary Wharf it had been worse than ever. She often found that her things were mislaid by the door and sometimes when she wanted to go speak to the Doctor in the middle of the night her door wouldn't budge open.<p>

This morning she woke up and headed out in search of the kitchen, a search in which she was aided by the sound of laughter. The Doctor's and a woman's.

A ginger woman's.

She walked into the kitchen to find the Doctor covered in flour and Donna trying to clean him off with a tea towel.

"I have baked before!," he insisted.

"Yes, I supposed as much when you forgot to add milk."

"Some galaxies have never even heard of milk and banana scones are a specialty of mine."

"I will believe it when I taste them, Martian." She brushed him with the tea towel again. "God, it's on your nose!"

They laughed. Really laughed, probably more than they should have. Rose couldn't help but feel as if she were being left out of something.

"Doctor," Rose said sharply.

The Doctor looked up in surprise, almost as if he'd forgotten about her. "Good morning, Rose."

"What are you doing?," asked Rose.

"Baking!"

"Baking?," asked Rose. She didn't know that he knew how to cook.

"Baking! Donna was hungry. By the way, look who's decided to join us," he said gleefully motioning a flour covered hand at Donna.

"Morning," said Donna.

"Don't you have work or something?," asked Rose.

"I thought this was a time machine," said Donna.

"Yes, it is," said the Doctor. "Why don't we start off with one trip backward, one forward? How would you like that, Donna?"

"Alright with me," said Donna with a smile.

"First things first, though: scones..."

* * *

><p>With the Doctor in a freshly cleaned suit and after a breakfast of silence between Rose and Donna, they made their way to the console room. Donna watched in amusement as the Doctor hopped back and forth pulling levers and pushing buttons.<p>

"And here we are!," he said.

They stepped outside of the TARDIS. It was night, the air was chilly, but not unreasonably. It wasn't Donna's main concern at any rate.

"Oh, God, the stench is awful," Donna said, wrinkling her nose.

"When are we?," Rose asked eagerly.

"Well," said the Doctor. He looked up as someone was dropping who knew what out of a window, he moved Donna out of the way. "Look out."

Rose just barely got herself out of the way in time. She looked at the Doctor. "Might have warned me!"

"Sorry about that," said the Doctor, looking at Donna.

"No worse than Nerys' hen night," said Donna.

"Oh. Did Nerys get married?," asked the Doctor.

"Not after the hen night." Donna paused. "This is London."

"London again," moaned Rose.

Donna shot her a look. "Don't complain."

Rose was startled. "I'm not complaining."

"Funny, sounded like it."

"Right about 1599, I should think," said the Doctor. "Look! Same old London! You've got watercooler talk," he said motioning at a couple of grimy men around a barrel. "Recycling," he said motioning at a man shoveling some feces.

"Just like Nerys' hen night," quipped Donna.

The Doctor smiled and motioned at a man preaching armageddon. "Global warming. Global warming. Oh, yes, and... entertainment! Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark right next to..."

They ran and saw a huge building a little ways down the Thames from them.

"Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe; it's a tetradecagon — fourteen sides — containing the man himself."

"Christopher Marlowe?," asked Donna.

"He means Shakespeare," said Rose.

Donna looked at him. "Yeah, caught that."

"Besides, Marlowe's dead," said the Doctor. "We'll catch him later. Now, on to the theater!"

They walked down the river to the Globe.

"What is it?," Rose asked. "Is it Romeo and Juliet? I loved that in school."

"No," said the Doctor, spying the broadsheets. "It's Love's Labour's Lost."

"I don't know that one," said Rose.

Donna groaned. "With the stupid ending?"

"Stupid?," asked Rose. "Who's complaining now?"

"You complained that the alien with the time machine keeps taking you to the same place. I'm complaining about a poorly written play. It just stops," said Donna. "Oh, look everybody's in love and now it's over."

"You'll ruin it!," shouted the woman next to Donna.

The Doctor nodded. "Probably one of Shakespeare's weaker works."

"What about Much Ado About Nothing?," asked Donna. "Is that coming up?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Hasn't been written yet."

"Too bad," said Donna. "Play with the silly ending it is."

"Care to accompany me to the theater?," asked the Doctor holding out an arm for Donna.

"Oh, don't mind if I do," said Donna.

Rose followed as they walked arm in arm into the Globe.

* * *

><p>They watched the play, at its conclusion the audience burst into a huge enthusiastic applause.<p>

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Donna, clapping half-heartedly, "cheer for the play with the dumb ending."

"Come on," said the Doctor, "there were some good bits."

"What were they?," asked Donna.

"What are you talking about?," asked Rose. "That was amazing!"

Donna looked at her. "Do you like that film Titanic?"

"One of my favorites," said Rose.

Donna turned back to the stage. "My point's made."

Rose stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know that film never covered why that iceberg was there in the first place," said the Doctor.

"I want to see Shakespeare," said Rose. "Where is he?"

"Well, shout author," said Donna. "Author! Author, get out here and explain that silly ending!"

The crowd began to shout author and Shakespeare appeared on the stage, taking it all in, reveling in their adulation.

"Oh, God, he's worse than David Beckham," said Donna.

"Cuter than his pictures," said Rose. She glanced over at the Doctor, nervously, hoping he hadn't taken offense to her last comment. He was too busy watching the scene onstage.

When he wasn't looking at Donna.

"Genius. He's a genius, the genius. The most human Human that's ever been. Now we're gonna hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words," the Doctor said in awe.

"Shut your big fat mouths!," shouted Shakespeare.

"Oh, well," said the Doctor, looking deflated.

Donna patted him on the arm and smiled. "Yes, that was definitely very human."

"You have excellent taste! I'll give you that," he said still soaking in the love of the crowd. He pointed at a man in the audience. "Oh, that's a wig!"

"I know what you're all saying. 'Loves Labour's Lost', that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops!"

"It's rubbish!," shouted Donna. Rose turned to glare at her and saw the Doctor smiling amused.

Shakespeare continued: "Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius. "

He suddenly paused. "When? Tomorrow night! The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it 'Loves Labour's Won'! "

The crowd cheered.

"Yeah, writing it overnight, this is going to be brilliant," said Donna.

"Love's Labour's Won," said Rose as they milled out. "I've never heard of it."

The Doctor nodded. "Exactly — the lost play. It doesn't exist — only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. No one knows why."

"Have you got a minidisc? We could record it and show it back home," said Donna.

"No, Donna," said Rose, "that would be interfering in the timelines."

"Okay, then," said Donna looking at the Doctor, "record it, I'll transcribe it and we can sell the transcript like we found it or something. I've got a retirement to plan for, do you expect me to live off a pension?"

"Clever but still not great, Donna," said the Doctor.

"Okay. Why don't you take me so I can buy some stocks in Microsoft? Or Apple?"

"Still no," said the Doctor.

"Oh, come on! It's not like I'm trying to pretend I invented the iPod."

The Doctor didn't answer.

"Okay, what about some shares in Starbucks? I'll even take McDonald's. For all you know, I already did it!"

"No," said the Doctor grinning.

"So, why'd it disappear in the first place?," asked Rose, eager to switch gears.

"I don't know," said the Doctor. "I think we had better find out."

* * *

><p>They found their way to the inn where Shakespeare lived. They headed upstairs, hearing the last part of the conversation between Shakespeare and two of his actors.<p>

"It's not ready, Will!," insisted one.

"I just have the final scene to write," said Shakespeare. "You'll get it by morning."

The other spoke. "What about that other piece? The Tragedy of Hero and Claudio?"

"It's not ready, I think it's lacking something, some sort of subplot."

The Doctor knocked on the door eagerly as Donna and Rose followed him in. "Hello! Excuse me! I'm not interrupting, am I? Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?"

"Oh no, no, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove off."

"Oi! Watch your tongue, think I'm here to fawn over you?," asked Donna. "Especially after that piece of garbage."

"I liked it," Rose piped up.

"Right," said the Doctor, trying to regain control of the conversation. It wasn't happening though.

"And who might you be?," asked Shakespeare, looking at Donna.

"I'm Donna."

"Right," said the Doctor, taking out his psychic paper. "I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS, these are my companions Miss Donna Noble and Miss Rose Tyler."

Shakespeare looked at Donna. "Does your husband always show strangers a blank piece of paper?"

"Husband?," asked Rose. "They're not a couple." She looked at the paper. "Why does the psychic paper say you're married?"

Donna shot a look at the Doctor. "Don't go around telling people we're married."

The Doctor looked sheepish. "Uh, true genius, he can't be fooled by the psychic paper."

"Psychic paper?," Donna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's paper and it's... psychic," said the Doctor.

Shakespeare looked at his actors. "Off with you two. Better get to sewing those costumes." He looked back at the Doctor as he Rose and Donna took seats. "Psychic. Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you exactly? Who's the blonde? Not your sister, is she?"

"I'm not his sister," said Rose defensively.

Shakespeare shrugged. "Might have fooled me."

"Some genius," muttered Rose.

"What was with that ending?," asked Donna. "Did you just get lazy or did you fall asleep?"

"Sorry?," asked Shakespeare.

"Not really your best work," said Donna. "I mean, come on, even the Kenneth Branaugh version was awful. It was like having Benedick and Beatrice fall in love, then, oh, play's over! Guess you'll have to see the sequel! Just after the money, that's what you are."

"Who are Benedick and Beatrice?," asked Shakespeare.

Donna looked at the Doctor.

"Yeah, you've done it," said the Doctor. "Also, the bit about Kenneth Branaugh, you might have left out."

"What? I'm not allowed to speak now?"

"Might help," muttered Rose.

"You can speak," said the Doctor, "just you know, leave out the bits about the future."

"Well, tell me these things!," said Donna. "Haven't you got a manual or something?"

"No, really ought to make one out," said the Doctor.

"When you go to IKEA, they give you a map and you've got people travelling with you with no instructions. No wonder you've had problems," said Donna.

"What problems?," asked Rose.

"IKEA?," asked Shakespeare.

"I'll get on that," said the Doctor.

"Excuse me!," a gruff voice shouted as a portly, ornately dressed man entered the room. "Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

"Did you read the one from tonight?," asked Donna.

Shakespeare ignored that. "I'll send it round in the morning."

"I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!"

"I don't have it," said Shakespeare.

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled!"

Donna snorted. "If it ends like tonight's you'll be doing us a favor. And Kenneth Branaugh."

The Doctor looked at Donna. "Why can't you leave Kenneth Branaugh out of it?"

"What's the harm? When's he ever going to meet Kenneth Branaugh?"

"I don't know, it could happen! Believe me, I've seen stranger things."

The Master of the Revels tried to ignore them. "I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, 'Love's Labours Won' will never be played. "

The man stormed out.

"Well, then," said Rose, "mystery solved. I suppose that's that."

Donna shook her head. "I doubt that."

"What do you mean?," sked Rose.

"Have you ever actually gone anywhere with him and had that be it?," asked Donna. She looked at the Doctor. "Trouble just follows you around. I know you."

"Trouble's just the bits in between ," said the Doctor.

"In between what, exactly?," asked Donna.

The Doctor thought. "Well, there was, wait, no... " He paused and caught sight of Donna's self satisfied expression. "I can do this. Just give me a minute."

"I'll give you ten, but it won't help."

As the Doctor stopped to think of more times that he went somewhere and absolutely nothing happened, they heard a scream from outside the inn. They all rushed outside to find the Master of the Revels fallen to the ground.

"What's wrong with him? Leave it to me, I'm a doctor," said the Doctor pushing some of the nearby crowd aside.

Donna knelt down beside him. "It's okay, you're gonna be alright."

The man started to spit up water.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Okay, what the hell is that?"

"I've never seen a death like it. His lungs are full of water — he drowned and then... I dunno, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow. The Doctor stood and looked at the innkeeper. "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humors. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

She nodded and was off.

"Imbalance of the humors?," asked Rose. "What's that?"

"Had to tell them something," said the Doctor. "This era, if I say what really happened they'll all think it was witchcraft."

"What was it?," asked Rose.

"Witchcraft," the Doctor finally answered.

Donna looked back at Rose. "Yeah, see what I meant about there always being something?"


	7. The Shakespeare Code, Part Two

Author's Notes: I don't own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or Shakespeare or Kenneth Branaugh or anything else. Also, I might have run with an idea put forth by Tina Fey if you happen to have read her book, so sorry, Tina Fey, you're awesome. Now, author's note, I was informed my author's notes might be off putting, so indulge me a moment. I say what I say the way I say it so that anyone who somehow thought I was going to be shipping Ten and Rose won't get too far into here and be disappointed. The reverse has happened to me, I'm trying to save you the trouble if that's what you're after. Okay? Okay. Now, sorry it's been a while, I had a 10 Mile Race and I also had to get some work done on my other stories which you may know. Anyway, thank you for all the reads and reviews and follows. I would love to know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>After they talked about Mister Lynley, the mistress of the inn, Dolly Bailey got them in the room. Donna was completely knackered and ready for any accomodation, even it was an inn in 1599. She wondered why they didn't go back to the TARDIs, her room there was fantastic. She couldn't risk leaving the Doctor alone with Rose, though and so she walked into the room Dolly had procured.<p>

One bed.

One bloody bed.

Rose and the Doctor soon followed.

"There's only one bed," said Rose. Was she going for some sort of record in stating the obvious?

"Hmm, yes, there it is. One." The Doctor swallowed looking anywhere but at Rose. "Donna, you and Rose can share."

Suddenly, all Donna could imagine was Rose Tyler suffocating her with a pillow.

"No, I'm fine on the floor," she said.

"Well, the Doctor and I can share," said Rose.

"No," the Doctor said quickly, "I couldn't possibly sleep knowing Donna was on the floor."

"No," said Donna, turning to smile stiffly at the Doctor, "don't worry about me." She snagged a pillow off the bed and laid on the floor.

She soon found the Doctor lying next to her, as if it were the most natural place to be. Donna could practically feel Rose shooting daggers from the bed.

"So, black magic and all that," said Donna, not looking at him, "what's that about?"

"There's no such thing as witches," Rose said from the bed.

"Course not," said the Doctor, "looks like magic but it isn't. There's such a thing as psychic energy but a human couldn't channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that. No. There's something I'm missing, Donna."

"Your elbow is in my back," said Donna.

"Oh," he said. "Sorry."

"You're lucky I'm not bleeding," she said.

"Oi! I'm not that skinny." He paused. "Am I?"

"Yes, too skinny for words," said Donna. "You ought to be a model, except for the lack of a cocaine habit. Oh, God, you're not on drugs, are you? Some sort of space crack?"

"I'm not on drugs. Why would I be on drugs?"

"Have you taken a good look at yourself running about? You're either high or mad."

"I am mad."

"Oh, he admits it!"

He smiled. "And what about you?"

"I'm not mad, remember?"

"No, of course not. Reminds me of this time on Numidia Seven..."

Rose listened to them on the floor, going on and on and on about everything and nothing of consequence. She tried to pipe in but there was never a breath between them. They talked and talked until Rose realized what had happened as she leaned over the bed. They had fallen asleep talking, as of they had known each other forever, but he had just known Donna a few days, it wasn't like her and the Doctor.

Rose would have thought on that further, but she had noticed the Doctor had fallen asleep behind Donna and his hand was on her thigh in a gesture that didn't look all that unintentional to her. Rose was just about to lean down and move his hand when there was a scream from the other side of the landing.

The Doctor awoke first, bolting upright, not at all bothered about where he had to retrieve his hand from and flew across the landing. Donna was quickly behind him and Rose was bringing up the rear as they found Dolly Bailey dead on the floor of Shakespeare's study.

"What was that?," asked Shakespeare. He looked down horrified to see the Doctor ecaming Dolly's lifeless body. Donna seemed to be caught up in looking at something out the window.

"Oh. My. God," said Donna.

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"I saw a witch."

"No, you didn't," Rose quickly disputed. She looked at the Doctor. "Did she?"

* * *

><p>It was finally dawn. No one had dared go back to bed and the three time travelers had stayed the night in the study, sitting shiva with Shakespeare.<p>

"Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit," said Shakespeare.

"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition," said Donna.

The Doctor smiled. "For life is quite absurd and death's the final word..."

Donna smiled back. "You must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin."

The Doctor continued. "Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow."

"What are you two on about?," asked Rose.

"Don't interrupt them, I could use this," said Shakespeare.

"Oh, you can't," said the Doctor.

"You really can't," added Donna, giggling. "Okay, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly dies of fright and I saw a witch-"

"No, you didn't," Rose muttered.

"Sorry, I forgot asking you," said Donna. She looked back at Shakespeare. "And you've written about witches."

"When was that?," asked Shakespeare.

"No, not quite yet," the Doctor said softly.

"Peter Streete spoke of witches," said Shakespeare.

"Who's he?," asked Rose.

"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe."

"The architect. Hold on. The architect! The architect!," the Doctor shouted. He slammed his fist on the table, surprising the tired group. "The Globe! Come on!"

He started running. Rose and Shakespeare were soon after him.

"Do we always have to run?," shouted Donna. "Could we just save it for emergencies?"

* * *

><p>Soon, they had arrived at the Globe, Shakespeare, Donna and Rose were on the stage as the Doctor roamed the pit, brown eyes gazing intensely at the walls and rows above him.<p>

"The columns there, right? Fourteen sides. I've always wondered but I never asked... tell me, Will, why fourteen sides?"

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well."

"Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen?"

"Aren't there fourteen lines in a sonnet?," asked Donna.

The Doctor nodded. "So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design," he said pacing around teh pit. "Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets… Oh, my head. Tetradecagon... think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!"

"Try not to have a stroke down there," said Donna.

"This is just a theatre," said Shakespeare.

"Oh, but a theatre's magic, isn't it? You should know. Stand on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis a the right time... Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy, change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place. And if you exaggerate that..."

"You can make idiotic teenagers think suicide is romantic?," offered Donna.

Shakespeare groaned. "How is that my fault?"

"It's okay. At least you didn't have anyone offer to freeze in the North Atlantic," said Donna.

"Are you talking about Titanic now?," asked Rose. "Why are you so out to get me?"

Donna turned and looked at her. "I'm talking about a film, how am I out to get you?"

"It was romantic, he sacrificed himself for her," said Rose.

"Right, dying is romantic," Donna said with a roll of her eyes. "Did you ever stop and think that maybe if she had gotten on the bloody lifeboat like she was supposed to, maybe he'd be alive instead of being an ice lolly at the bottom of the sea?"

"She couldn't leave him, she loved him," Rose protested.

"They had just bloody met," said Donna.

"What? You mean like you and your fiance?," she snapped. "Yeah, a lot of love there."

"That's enough, Rose," said the Doctor.

Rose turned back to him. "But-"

"Enough," he said sharply. He looked at Shakespeare who was completely confused. "Where's Peter Streete now? He would know why fourteen sides."

"You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place... lost his mind."

"Where is he now?," asked the Doctor.

"Bedlam," he answered.

"Oh, good," said Donna.

"What's Bedlam?," asked Rose.

"Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse."

"We're gonna go there," the Doctor started moving out. "Right now. Come on!"

"Wait!," called Shakespeare. "I'm coming with you! I want to witness this at first hand!"

Shakespeare then handed his entering actors some pages and shouted some instructions as Donna and Rose followed the Doctor, not looking at each other.

"You were deceived by your fiance?," asked Shakespeare.

Donna cast a glare at Rose. "Yes," she answered tersely. "Turns out he was seeing a giant spider queen."

"Well, lady, sigh no more. Men were deceivers ever, one foot in sea, one on shore..." he mused.

"To one thing constant never?," Donna supplemented.

"Whose is that?," he asked.

"Tell you what, Shakespeare, it's all yours," said Donna, she said patting him on the arm.

* * *

><p>They arrived at Bedlam which was a more awful place than they could have imagined. They applied to the jailer to see Peter Streete and were made to wait.<p>

"You put your friend in here?," asked Rose. "How could you do that?"

"I've been mad," said Shakespeare. "I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose."

"Mad? How?," asked Rose.

"You lost your son," the Doctor said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry," said Rose. "I didn't know."

Donna scoffed.

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be... oh, that's quite good."

"You should write that down," said the Doctor.

"Hm, maybe not. A bit pretentious?"

The jailer led them into Peter Streete's cell.

"They can be dangerous, m'lord. Don't know their own strength," he warned.

"I think it helps if you don't whip them," snapped the Doctor. "Now, get out!"

The jailer left sheepishly. The Doctor leaned down towards Peter.

"You'll get nothing out of him," said Shakespeare. "He's the same as he was."

"Peter?," asked Donna. She knelt down by the Doctor, he seemed to stir.

The Doctor took advantage of his sudden fleeting consciousness. "Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past, one year ago. Let your mind go back, back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A winter's tale. Let go. Listen. That's it, just let go," he said lying Peter down on his cot as Donna adjusted the pillow for him. "Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches."

"Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. Their design! The fourteen walls, always fourteen. When the work was done," he said, trailing off, "they sapped poor Peter's wits."

"Where did you see them, Peter?," asked the Doctor. "Where in the city?"

"All Hallow's Street," said Peter.

"What is this? A theme park?," asked Donna. "Witches on All Hallow's Street?"

"Oh, my God," said Rose.

Donna and the Doctor looked up to see a person who could only be described as a witch standing precariously close to them. The Doctor pushed Donna away and moved to put some distance between them.

Donna looked at Rose. "And what was that about my not seeing a witch?"

"Too many words," said the witch. She touched her finger to Peter's chest. "Just one touch of the heart."

"No!," shouted the Doctor.

Peter cried out and then life vanished from his body.

"Witch!," cried Shakespeare. "I'm seeing a witch!"

"Who would be next, hmm? Just one touch," said the witch. "Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals."

"Let us out!," said Rose, rattling the bars of the cell.

"Well, that's not gonna work," said the Doctor. "Whole building's shouting that."

"Who will die first then?," asked the witch.

"Well," said the Doctor, stepping forward, "if you're looking for volunteers..."

"Doctor, no," said Rose.

"Yeah," said Donna, "you're my lift home."

"Doctor, can you stop her?," asked Shakespeare.

"None on Earth has power over me," sneered the witch.

"Then it's a good thing I'm here. Now think, think, think... Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy... ah, fourteen! That's it! Fourteen! The fourteen stars of the Rexel planetary configuration! Creature, I name you Carrionite!"

The witch wheezed and vanished.

"What did you do?," asked Donna. "Did you kill her?"

"I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic."

"But there's no such thing as magic," Rose protested.

"Well, it's just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead."

"Use them for what?," asked Shakespeare.

"The end of the world," answered the Doctor.

Donna shook her head. "It just keeps getting better and better with you," she said.


	8. The Shakespeare Code, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. So, ready for a long story? Last Monday, I was getting this chapter together when there was a thunderstorm and the power went out for basically all the time I had to work on it. Then Tuesday, I somehow managed to injure my back in a way that makes it okay for me to stand or lay down, but not to sit. Seriously. I even ran today, no problem. Sitting in the car on the way to the gym: problem. Big problem. So, between that and the painkillers/muscle relaxers involved, I did not manage to get a lot of work done on any of the three stories that needed updating until I got a wireless keyboard involved. So, apologies and you can expect the others to be updated in the next couple of days as well if you're following them. Thanks for the reads and reviews last time, glad you all liked it. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The jailer let them out. Eventually. Not soon enough for their liking. They headed back to the Elephant Inn and Shakespeare's room.<p>

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend," the Doctor explained.

"Yeah, I'm thinking real," said Donna. She looked around. "Shakespeare? Rose?"

"Real," Shakespeare agreed.

"Rose?," asked Donna. "Any thoughts?"

Rose just pouted and looked at the Doctor. "What do they want, Doctor?"

"A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft," he answered.

"Super," said Donna.

"How?," asked Rose.

"With words." His gaze turned to Shakespeare. "I'm looking at the man with the words."

"Me? But I've done nothing," said Shakespeare.

"Oh, well, I'm sure it's just a big mix-up," said Donna. "Are there any other literary geniuses around?"

"Are you calling me a genius?," asked Shakespeare.

"Get off it," snapped Donna. "Last night, when that witch left here, you were writing, right?"

"Yes," said Shakespeare. "I was finishing the play."

"What happens on the last page?," asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, do you bother giving it an ending?," Donna chimed in.

"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual — except those last few lines. Funny thing is..." Shakespeare looked genuinely puzzled. "I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it. They used you. They gave you the final words. Like a spell, like a code. 'Love's Labours Won' — it's a weapon!" The Doctor's words got faster as he began his explanation. "The right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that," he finished.

The Doctor started tearing the room apart and pulled out a map. He pointed. "All Hallows Street. There it is. Donna, we'll track them down. Will, Rose, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play!"

"I'll do it," said Shakespeare as he shook the Doctor's hand. "All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."

Donna groaned. "Oh, please, don't tell him that. He doesn't need a bigger head than he already has."

"Good luck, Doctor," said Shakespeare.

"Good luck, Shakespeare!," said the Doctor, heading towards the door as Donna followed. "Once more unto the breach!"

"I like that," said Shakespeare. "Wait, that's one of mine!"

"Oh, just shift!," said the Doctor, poking his head back in the room.

"Sorry, am I doing this on my own?," asked Donna.

"Coming!," said the Doctor.

* * *

><p>Shakespeare had initially liked the look of Rose. She was young, pretty, just his type, but that had begun to change as he found her conversation increasingly monotonous.<p>

"It's just, I'm the one who should be with the Doctor!," said Rose as she followed him. "I mean, she just got here."

"Uh-huh," Shakespeare non-committally.

"What does he see in her, anyway?," Rose asked.

Shakespeare smiled. "If you don't know, I'll not tell you."

"What? Seriously?," asked Rose. "You think he likes her?"

"Those two were made for each other," said Shakespeare. "Funny how neither seems to realize it. Wait a minute..."

"I've got to go," said Rose.

"What?," asked Shakespeare. "Where are you going?"

"I've got to help him," said Rose, beginning to run. "You stop the play!"

"Rose!," called Shakespeare. He couldn't tally long because he could hear the roar of the crowd. The play was far in progress.

* * *

><p>"So, see it's like Back to the Future," said the Doctor.<p>

"Uh-huh," said Donna, looking at a street sign. "Here we are. Just which house?"

The door flung open on one of the houses.

"Make that witch house," said the Doctor.

They went inside and were soon met by a red-headed witch.

"Oh, great, she's ginger," said Donna.

"What? What has that got to do with anything?," asked the Doctor.

"Well, we don't need the bad publicity," said Donna. She looked at the witch. " Alright, I name thee, Carrionite."

The witch stood.

"Oi, lady! I did the naming thing! Off with you!"

The witch approached. "The power of the name works only once. Observe, I gaze upon this-"

"Donna Noble!," Donna said quickly, wincing as she did so.

The witch grimaced at the thwarting. "You took away the power of the naming. Clever. For your species." She looked behind them. "Oh, but look how the north wind blows and carries down the not so distant Rose."

"What?," asked the Doctor, just as soon as he heard a thud on the floor behind him. He and Donna turned back to see Rose fallen on the floor.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Is she serious?"

"What have you done to her?," the Doctor demanded of the witch.

"Only sleeping, alas. Curious, the name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. And as for you, Sir Doctor!," she said, pointing at him. She then stopped. "Fascinating, there is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair?"

The Doctor spoke, commanding the witch's attention. "The Carrionites vanished. Where did you go?"

"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into the darkness."

"And how did you escape?"

"New words. New and glittering like no other."

"You mean Shakespeare," said Donna.

The witch nodded. "His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."

"How many of you?," asked the Doctor.

"Just the three. But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world we will lead the universe back to the old ways of blood and magic."

"Oh," said the Doctor, glancing at Donna, "busy schedule."

"Yes, very busy," said Donna. "That and all the musical numbers."

The Doctor looked at Donna. "What musical numbers?"

"You know, Wicked."

"What's Wicked?"

"It's a musical."

"I haven't seen it," said the Doctor and before he knew what had happened, the witch had taken a piece of his hair. He turned sharply towards her as his countenance grew deadly serious. "Give it back!"

"A little touchy about your hair, aren't you?," asked Donna.

The witch flew backwards through the window as she revealed what looked to be a voodoo doll. "Behold, Doctor, men to Carrionaites are nothing but puppets."

"Now, you might call that magic, but I call it a DNA replication module."

She stabbed the doll and the Doctor collapsed on the ground.

The witch flew away as Donna moved frantically to help him. "Doctor, Doctor?" She knelt to listen to both hearts. She was leaning over his mouth, about to start CPR when his eyes opened. "You were faking?," she spat.

"Had to get her away somehow." He leapt up. "Oh!"

"What? What's wrong?," asked Donna.

"Only one heart working! How do you people cope? I've got to get the other one started! Hit me!"

"Seriously?"

"On the chest, Donna!"

Donna put her hands together and thumped the Doctor on the back. "Aahh! Other side!," he screamed.

Donna thumped him again. "On the back! On the back!," he whined.

"You want to do this yourself?," asked Donna, thumping him again, maybe a little harder than necessary.

"Left a bit!"

Donna rolled her eyes and thumped him again. He jumped up, back cracking. "Ahh, lovely. There we go! Ba-da-boom! Well, what are you standing there for? Come on! The Globe!"

Rose stirred on the floor. "Doctor?"

"What are you laying on the ground for? Allons-y!," said the Doctor as he ran out with Donna following.

* * *

><p>They arrived backstage at the Globe to find Shakespeare rubbing the back of his head.<p>

"Stop the play! I think that was it. Yeah, I said, 'Stop the play'!"

"I hit my head," he said plaintively.

"Too bad there wasn't someone here to help you," said Donna, glancing at Rose. "I can't believe someone didn't think of that!"

They heard screams coming from out front.

"I think that's my cue!," said the Doctor running out. Rose followed him as Donna yanked Shakespeare by the arm to come along.

There were Carrionites screaming as they swirled around the theater. The crowd was coming apart, afraid and confused by the sight.

"Now begins the millennium of blood!," the Carrionites cackled.

The Doctor grabbed Shakespeare. "Come on, Will! History needs you!"

"But what can I do?"

"Reverse it!"

"How am I supposed to do that?," he asked helplessly.

"How do you think?," Donna shouted.

The Doctor looked intently at Shakespeare. "The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith, the one true genius. The only man clever enough to do it!"

"But what words? I have none ready!"

"You're William Shakespeare!"

Shakespeare looked hopelessly at the swarm. "But these Carrionite phrases, the need such precision!"

"Trust yourself. When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they? Like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm — words that last forever! That's what you do, Will! You choose perfect words. Do it. Improvise!"

Shakespeare turned and faced the swarm. "Close up this den of hateful, dire decay! Decomposition of your witches' plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not!"

The whirling seemed to lessen as Shakespeare began to speak.

"Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points..." He looked back at the Doctor for guidance.

"7-6-1-3-9-0!," said the Doctor.

"7-6-1-3-9-0! And banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee..." Shakespeare looked again to the Doctor who was at a complete loss.

He turned towards the women. Rose was about to open her mouth when the Doctor said: "Donna!"

Donna looked at him in disbelief. "I don't know! What am I supposed to say? Expelliarmus?"

The Doctor turned to Shakespeare. "Expelliarmus!"

"Expelliarmus!," Shakespeare finished.

"Good old JK!," shouted the Doctor in glee. "You are brilliant, Donna!"

The Carrionites screamed as the swarm dissipated.

"The deep darkness! They are consumed!," shouted the ginger witch as she screamed and disappeared.

The Carrionites were consumed by the cloud, along with every copy of the play.

"'Love's Labours Won'. There it goes."

"Probably for the best," said Donna. "Think of the God awful sequel Kenneth Branaugh would have had to make."

* * *

><p>The Doctor disappeared for a while. Rose sat with Shakespeare as he quoted Romeo and Juliet at her. The girl just lapped it up. Donna got tired of waiting for the Doctor so she headed back to the props department.<p>

"Are you going to hurry up?," asked Donna. "Rose and Shakespeare are about to elope out there. It's going to ruin all of his future works." She paused. "Oh, wait, Ophelia makes sense now."

"Look at all this," said the Doctor. "Excellent props department. Sorry, Donna, what were you saying?"

She crossed her arms. "You have to do something about Rose."

"What about her?," asked the Doctor.

"You gave her one little job to do, didn't you?," asked Donna. "The whole world nearly ended because she has follow you around like... I was going to say 'like' a lovesick teenager, but clearly she is a lovesick teenager."

Some of the Doctor's joviality dissipated. "She's a friend, Donna. She saved my life. I can't just toss her out."

Donna sighed. "Well, you had better sort it out. I'm not going to be your chaperon forever. Worse than that, she's not going to wait around forever, so unless you like the idea of a broken condom and a quickie wedding..."

The Doctor frowned at her. "Donna, who do you go about with?"

She motioned at him. "Well, example A."

They walked back out to the stage.

"Here," said the Doctor, fixing a neck brace on the bard. "Wear this for your neck, It suits you."

Two of Shakespeare's actors burst in. "Will! She's here!"

"Who?," asked Shakespeare.

"Her Majesty!," he hissed.

The doors opened and the Queen entered flanked by guards and trumpeters.

"Queen Elizabeth I!," the Doctor shouted in glee.

"Donna Noble!," she spat with disgust.

Donna motioned at herself. "Who? Me?"

"My mortal enemy!"

"Oi, lady! What's your problem?"

"Off with her head!"

The Doctor grabbed Donna's hand. "Run!"

They ran as Rose followed.

* * *

><p>After they returned to the TARDIS, Donna excused herself to watch 1599 off. Rose stood by the controls as the Doctor put the TARDIS in the Vortex.<p>

"So, where's the next stop?," asked Rose. "Dropping Donna off?"

The Doctor turned and gave Rose a severe look. "You didn't listen, Rose." "What?"

"I told you to go with Shakespeare and stop the play. You didn't do that."

"I wanted to help you. Like I always do."

"I didn't need your help, Rose!," he snapped.

"But you needed hers?," she replied cattily.

"Yes!," he snapped back.

Rose froze, chastened. She didn't want to absorb what that could mean.

"Just do as I say next time," the Doctor finished softly.

* * *

><p>"Don't you ever sleep?," asked Donna. The Doctor looked up from beneath the open grating of the console. "I was just finding a spot to store away the Carrionites," he said.<p>

"You mean you're just going to keep them?," asked Donna.

"Only safe place for them," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Can't sleep?"

"Not really. Thought maybe I'd watch a film."

"What about a play?," asked the Doctor.

"You mean like a recording?"

* * *

><p>He did not mean a recording. Donna soon found herself next to the Doctor at the very first première night of Wicked on Broadway. They were all the way to the reprise of Defying Gravity when Donna realized that she and the Doctor had been holding hands the entire time. What was this? She had noticed that he took her hand quite often, usually when they were unning for their lives. They were just sitting here, though. Nothing was wrong and she liked holding his hand. She really did.<p>

They were just friends.

Friends could hold hands, couldn't they?

"So," asked the Doctor as they strode back towards Times Square where the TARDIS was parked, "ready for bed yet?"

"Now I see why you never sleep. Too much to do" she said.

"I do sleep you know. I was just thinking that maybe you would want to see something else. Double feature."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Suppose we saw 'Much Ado About Nothing.'"

"What? Like the original?"

"Well, there is quite a good one in 2011, but that might be exposing you to a bit too much of your future, so, yes, we could go back to the Globe."

"What about Good Queen Bess?," asked Donna.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," the Doctor smiled.

* * *

><p>There were a few details that Kenneth Branaugh had overlooked in his version of Much Ado About Nothing Donna soon discovered at the premiere performance.<p>

One, Beatrice had ginger hair.

Two, Benedick was constantly bouncing around, speaking a million words a minute. He was much more upbeat †han Branaugh's own interpretation of the leading man.

Third, Beatrice and Benedick were holding hands as they ran about in the last acts of the play.

"What did you think?," the Doctor asked Donna as they filed out of the Globe, still holding hands.

"Uh, brilliant," said Donna.

He turned and grinned at her. "It was, wasn't it? I still like his sonnets best, though."

Donna smirked. How long had he been waiting to show off some poetry?

"_My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damask, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare._"

"Oh, bite me, alien boy," said Donna.

"What?," asked the Doctor, looking not unlike a kicked puppy.

She smiled. "You just love showing off, don't you? Which is easy for you because you think you know everything."

"Well," said the Doctor, "not everything."

"Yeah, I think we can agree on that one," said Donna.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I thought I might have gone too far with the Tate/Tennant shipping, but then is there such a thing? _

_**Next Time: Gridlock**  
><em>


	9. Gridlock, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor Donna or Rose. As you may have guessed, things might have gone slightly differently if I did. Oh, don't own Defying Gravity, either. So, I looked back and realized I had only updated this story once this month between various circumstances and my need to get my other stories wrapped up/started and I felt bad, so here we are. I think you'll find this Gridlock is a little more different than the other episodes have been thus far and that's mainly because, well, did you think Donna was going to go jumping car to car on the motorway? Yeah, nor did I. Thanks for the reads and reviews and follows. By the way, hi, lurkers. Anyway, I love getting them and if you wanted to leave one, I'm having a really rough week and honestly, it would probably make my day. Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

><p>Rose was totally confused by the previous day's events.<p>

The Doctor had yelled at her. He had never done that before. Sure, she had left Shakespeare alone, but she wanted to help the Doctor. He needed her, not Donna. Why couldn't he see that? What did he think was so "brilliant" about her anyway? She was old, sort of chunky, not that clever and just plain rude. God, even her own family knew it, that's why they started the reception without her.

Rose had stayed in her room all night. The one time she tried to leave the TARDIS had locked the door yet again. She tried protesting she was hungry to the ship and a granola bar seemingly fell from the ceiling and hit her in the head. She spent the night contemplating and wondering if her room was getting smaller.

She was relieved when the TARDIS finally let her out in the morning. She smiled as she could hear the Doctor singing in the console room.

_"It's time to try defying gravity, I think I'll try defying gravity, kiss me goodbye I am defying gravity..."_

"God, you're hopless, spaceman," she heard Donna say.

"Pass me that spanner."

"Please," she prompted.

"Please," he relented.

Rose entered the console room. The Doctor was under the console as Donna handed him the spanner. He took it and resumed singing.

"_Defying gravity, kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity, I think I'll try defying gravity and you won't bring me-"_

"Doctor?," asked Rose.

There was a bang and the Doctor yelped in pain as he got out from under the console, rubbing his head. "Oh, hello, Rose."

"What's going on?," she asked.

"Oh, Donna was just helping me do a tune up on the Old Girl. Want to have her working properly for our excursion to New Earth," he said with a grin as he bounded up.

"New Earth," said Rose. "We're going to New Earth?"

"Yes," said the Doctor. "Just sort of thought Donna should see New New York."

Rose walked up closer to him. "But we went to New New York."

"Yes. Told Donna all about it."

"Did you?," asked Rose.

"Cat nuns," supplied Donna.

Rose looked back at the Doctor. "But that's ours..."

The Doctor froze. Donna cleared her throat.

"So, this New New York, are we going to go there or just stand around and talk about it?," she asked.

"Right!," said the Doctor, flying to the console, grinning as he worked the controls. "Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth! Second hope of mankind! Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."

He grabbed his coat and ran out, Donna was right after him. Rose let out a heavy sigh as she followed them out.

It wasn't the same part that they had been in and Donna spotted it straight away.

"You brought me to the slums," said Donna, pulling her hood over her head.

Rose was barely listening she was so lost in thought remembering the last time that she and the Doctor had come here. The first trip after his regeneration, they had saved those humans in the hospital together. They had laid on the applegrass.

This was their planet. Hers and the Doctor's, not the Doctor and Donna's.

"Do you take all the girls you bring with you to the rough side of town?," Donna asked with a smile.

The Doctor grinned back. "Just the ones I really like."

Donna froze, the Doctor looked back having just realized what he had said. It started raining.

"Raining, lovely," said the Doctor, changing the subject. He took Donna's hand. "Come on!"

They ran ahead.

"Rose, are you coming?," asked the Doctor.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Coming!"

Rose didn't want to go, not with Donna. She so wished that she could get rid of her somehow, but every time she brought up anything about Donna the Doctor snapped at her. He was so blind about her and Rose couldn't work out why.

But when he looked at her...

"Happy, happy!," shouted a vendor as a plywood opening came up to open a booth. A woman looked at her. "You look like you could use some Happy, sweetheart! Come on up!"

Before Rose could answer, a group of other stalls opened with vendors all flogging different moods: Anger, Honesty, Mellow.

Donna turned and looked at the Doctor. "Are they selling drugs? Did you bring me to a drug deal in the year five billion? I could have stayed in London for that, thank you very much."

"I think they're selling moods," said the Doctor.

"Same thing," said Donna.

"They're younger, they'll rip you off," said one of the vendors. "Want to buy some Happy?"

"No thanks," said the Doctor.

"How about your wife?," he asked with a salesman's smile.

"They're not a couple!," shouted Rose, probably too loudly. So loud that an alley full of drug dealers stopped and took notice. Before the Doctor could say anything to her about it, one of the vendors had a customer.

"I want to buy Forget," said the stricken looking young woman.

"I've got Forget, my darling," the vendor said cheerfully. "What strength? How much you want forgetting?"

"It's my parents. They've gone to the motorway."

"Oh, that's so sweet. Here you are. Forget forty-three. That'll be twopence."

The Doctor walked over. "Sorry, but – hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"

"They drove off," she said.

"Aren't they coming back?," asked Donna.

"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them," she said with fatalistic resignation.

Donna leaned in to the Doctor. "Oh, that's not scary at all," she whispered to him.

"But they can't have gone far. You could find them," offered the Doctor.

The pale woman didn't answer, just put the little circle on her neck.

"No, no, don't!," the Doctor said despairingly.

She looked at the Doctor blankly. "Sorry? What were you saying?"

"You were talking about your parents? You said they had gone to the motorway, never coming back?," supplied Donna.

"Have they?," she asked. "That's nice."

She then walked off.

Donna looked at the Doctor.

"So, you've not only brought me to the slums, it's creepy."

The Doctor grinned. "It can't all be champagne and cocktails."

"Oh. When exactly does the champagne and cocktails bit start?"

"I took you to Broadway," he said defensively.

Broadway? When had he taken her to Broadway? Rose was just about to question him when she felt someone grab her from behind. She yelped and looked to see it was a young man. He was dragging her backwards. The Doctor and Donna stepped forward as a woman came out holding a gun. The Doctor and Donna shouted at them to let Rose go and the woman apologized profusely as the man dragged Rose into a corridor. The door locked and they rushed her down the tattered walkway to what looked like a waiting car. Rose shouted and tried to fight the man to no avail.

"Give her some Sleep," said the man.

"No!," shouted Rose, but it was too late. The woman had already put the circle on Rose's neck and she felt her eyes getting heavy.

* * *

><p>"Do that sort of thing often?," asked Donna.<p>

"What?," asked the Doctor heading down the path the so-called pharmacists had directed them to before the Doctor basically threatened to tear apart the street.

"Shout. Make scary promises."

"I'm angry," said the Doctor.

"Caught that," said Donna.

"They've taken Rose, Donna! What do you want me to do?"

Donna followed him to the end of the path. He used the sonic screwdriver to open the door and revealed what appeared to be some sort of tunnel of traffic. The air was thick and putrid. The smog- assuming it was smog- was so thick Donna could hardly see through it. Donna began coughing and soon the Doctor was as well.

The door to one of the cars opened and a man started shouting at them. Donna looked at the Doctor, he looked as if he was about to actually get in! Get in a complete stranger's car on some creepy sounding motorway in this godforsaken part of town! Was he completely stupid? Donna yanked him by the arm and dragged him coughing and objecting at once back behind the access door.

"What did you do that for?," he shouted once he could speak properly.

"You idiot! You were about to jump in that car! Honestly, hitchhiking? Don't you watch horror films?"

"What do you expect me to do?," the Doctor shouted. "They've taken Rose!"

"I see and how does us getting ourselves killed help that?"

"And what's your plan?," he snapped.

Donna's instinct was to snap back, but she knew it would be fruitless. She instead calmed herself to speak. "You said you came here before. Do they have police?"

"Yes, of course," said the Doctor.

"Crime, police, following me yet?"

Donna was positive she could see a light bulb going off in the Doctor's head. Perhaps he wasn't so dull after all. "I could contact the Duke of Manhattan, I've met him. Or the Senate!"

Donna nodded. "Yes, that sounds positively corking. Either way, if you're going hitchhiking, you can just give me to the key to the TARDIS because the last thing I need is to be murdered on the motorway in the year five billion."

The Doctor nodded. "Well, we're in the undercity, we'll have to walk up."

Donna nodded back. "Lead the way, spaceman."


	10. Gridlock Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, yet really should. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should have updated sooner and this one is probably shorter than you would like so look for Gridlock to be in four parts, which I promise to do quicker than the next installments. Remember the rough week I mentioned last time? Well, what happened was that I had found out my twelve year old dog had lung cancer. So, the next week as I was starting on the next installment of Gridlock, she died at home. In my head I linked the two things and didn't want to go back to this story as opposed to my others, which I know must sound irrational but all I can say is that's what happened. I'm sorry. So, let's make a date for a new installment, no later than Sunday because I work well with deadlines. That's US, though, so sorry Australians and I think a few people in Japan and New Zealand if the stats are to be believed. Thanks for the reads and reviews on the last one. I hope this decidedly short installment is not a disappointment for reasons other than its length. Sorry about the emotional baggage and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Rose stirred awake, her vision blurry as she heard her captors talking.<p>

"They say the air smells like apple grass," the woman said dreamily. "Can you imagine?"

"They say the houses are made of wood," the man added. "There are jobs going in the foundries. Everyone says so!"

Rose pulled the sticker or whatever it was from her neck and her vision focused. She gazed across the car at stacks of pills and supplies as the couple chatted. She spotted the gun they had brandished while they kidnapped her. Rose regained her strength, stood quickly and grabbed the gun. She turned and pointed it at her captors in the front of the car.

"Okay, take me back to the Doctor, that's all I want. Do that and I won't hurt you."

They didn't seem all that scared.

"Sorry," said the woman, "but that's not a real gun."

"You're trying to trick me," said Rose.

"Where do you get a gun from these days?," she asked. "I wouldn't even know how to fire."

"I would." Rose made an attempt to shoot at the ceiling, suddenly finding that the gun felt very plastic-y. "It's a toy! You kidnapped me with a toy! Why would you do that?"

"Well, we needed three passengers," said the man. "You looked easier to kidnap than that other woman."

"She's not that great," Rose said shaking her head.

"What's your name?," the woman asked trying to be cheerful.

"Rose."

"Well, I'm Cheen, and this is Milo. And I swear we're sorry. We're really, really sorry. We just needed access to the fast lane, but I promise, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you off and you can go back and find your friends."

"Well, you had better take me back now because the Doctor will be coming after me," asked Rose. She looked out the windscreen. "Where are we?"

"We're on the motorway," said Milo.

"Is that fog?"

"No, that's the exhaust fumes," said Cheen.

"We're going out to Brooklyn. Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town, because…"

"I'm pregnant," Cheen said proudly. "We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy."

"Oh. Great," said Rose.

"This'll be as fast as we can. We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that it's gonna take a while, because then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct," Milo explained.

"It's only ten miles," said Cheen.

"So, what? This'll take an hour or something?," asked Rose.

Milo and Cheen looked each other confused, unsure of what to do next.

In the end, they burst out laughing.

"What's the joke then?," asked Rose.

"An hour!," said Milo. "What do you think this is?"

"Well, how long will it take?," asked Rose.

"Six years," said Milo.

"Just in time for him to start school," cooed Cheen.

"Six years! I can't be locked up six years with you two! I've got places to go, things to see! What's the Doctor going to do without me for six years? I'm all he has!"

"Well, he still has that ginger woman to keep him company, doesn't he?," asked Cheen.

"They are not a couple!," Rose shouted.

Cheen and Milo looked at each other, wondering if they'd chosen the wrong person to be third in the car.

* * *

><p>Donna followed the Doctor up the seemingly endless maze of walkways and tunnels that connected the undercity of New New York to the overcity.<p>

"Almost there," announced the Doctor. He motioned at what looked like a futuristic manhole cover. "I just need to unlock this and get us access into the overcity."

Donna furrowed her brow. "They lock off the overcity? Why? So only the right sort can get in?"

The Doctor stiffened. "I try not to judge the civilizations I come into contact with."

"How's that going?," asked Donna. "Does the not judging start now or was it back when you were threatening all of Pharmacytown? I just want to be sure to not miss it."

The Doctor stopped using the sonic screwdriver long enough to look at Donna. "You don't ease up ever, do you?"

"Neither do you," she said.

The Doctor returned to the task of opening the cover. Trying a few more settings, the cover popped open and an alarm went off.

"Uh, I think I may have alerted the police," said the Doctor.

"That simplifies things," said Donna. "We don't even have to find them."

They waited a few more moments with the sound blaring, then heard a pop as if a circuit blew and the lights went out and the sound stopped.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Great. You broke something."

"It's not as if I meant to. I can mend it," he insisted, pointing the sonic at the circuit panel. The power flickered and died again.

"Something's wrong, this circuit isn't getting any power," he announced. "Nothing's coming down the grid."

"So, we've arrived in the middle of a blackout?," asked Donna.

The Doctor looked around suspiciously. "Something's wrong here. Come on."

Donna followed him as he ascended the final staircase and they walked out into one of the overcity's concrete and steel canyons. The setting sun glimmered against the glass.

The streets were empty, though. Not a soul. Not a sound except for the breeze rustling an errant piece of rubbish.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Where is everyone?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe it's tea time."

"That's your brilliant explanation?," she snapped.

The Doctor looked at Donna. She was really starting to look like she wasn't enjoying herself.

Really not enjoying herself.

"Are you alright, Donna?," he asked.

"It's just, do you know what this is starting to look like?," she asked.

He looked around. "No."

"It's starting to remind me of one of those films where everyone has died and it's the end of the world and then there's zombies or something roaming the streets-"

"What films?"

"I don't know! Films! Post apocalyptic end of the world films! 28 Days Later! I hate films like that! I didn't sleep for three weeks!"

"28 Days Later?," asked the Doctor.

"You know, the one where the bloke wakes up in hospital and everyone is rabid and they have to go to Manchester and there's a bunch of army blokes and their commander is the one who stabs Ewan McGregor in Shallow Grave and he's gone all Lord of the Flies?"

The Doctor nodded. "Oh, yeah, I think I remember him. Why did you watch 28 Days Later?"

"I thought it was the one with Sandrs Bullock," Donna said sharply.

"Oh," said the Doctor, "Well, this isn't 28 Days Later."

"Fine, it's The Stand, then. Or that one episode of The Twilight Zone where the bloke breaks his glasses!"

"Oh, that's a good one," said the Doctor. "You're actually frightened, aren't you?"

"What? I'm not allowed to have any fears?"

"No, I just didn't see apocalypse as one of them."

"What? Would you like it better if I were afraid of snakes or something?"

"No, no, have whatever fear you like," said the Doctor.

"I don't like it, that's the point," said Donna.

"This isn't like those films," said the Doctor. He held out his hand. "Come on. I'll protect you from the zombies."

"Not funny," Donna muttered as she grudgingly took his hand.

They strode further down the street and found one of New New York's police stations. He and Donna walked inside.

The lights were out.

"Hello?," called the Doctor. He used the hand not holding Donna's to sonic a lamp and revealed the true nature of the problem.

The floor was littered with skeletons. Other skeletons sat in repose in chairs, next to empty, dusty mugs. The place didn't look as if it had been touched in ages.

Donna squeezed the Doctor's hand tighter. "You were saying about this not being like one of those films?"

"Yeah," said the Doctor, licking his lips, "might have been a bit premature on that."


	11. Gridlock, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. You know what I keep forgetting to apologize for? I forgot to apologize to anyone who really wanted the image of David Tennant holding kittens because that is what you've missed out on in this version of the story. Thanks for the reads and reviews and your understanding last time. I know, it's still in four parts, but here's part three. I'm hoping to not make a habit of it. Thanks again and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Rose watched as the car descended slowly through layers and layers of traffic.<p>

Milo motioned proudly at the monitor. "See? Another ten layers to go! We're scorching!"

"Right," said Rose, "just five years and twenty-two hours to go."

They heard a low grumbling.

"What's that?," asked Rose.

"It does have a noise, doesn't it?," said Cheen. "It's like Kate said. The stories are true."

"What stories?"

"It's the sound of the air vents. That's all. The exhaust fumes travel down, so at the base of the tunnel they've got air vents," Milo said patronizingly.

"Oh, but the stories are much better," said Cheen. "They say people go missing on the motorway. Some cars just vanish, never to be seen again. 'Cause there's something living down there, in the smoke. Something huge. And hungry. And if you get lost on the road … it's waiting for you."

Just then, the sound of the rumbling grew. The three passengers looked at each other nervously.

"Like I said, air vents," said Milo. "Going down to the next layer."

Rose peered out. "Not great air vents. Look at all that mess out there."

The sound grew as Cheen and Milo considered Rose's proposition.

Milo carried on driving. "Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on descent," he said into the transmitter.

* * *

><p>Donna watched as the Doctor cleared out one of the skeletons from in front of a computer terminal.<p>

"Sorry big fella," he said as the skeleton clattered against the floor. Donna tried not to scream. He sat in the now empty chair and took out the sonic screwdriver. "We have got to sort out what's going on."

"Oh, I don't know, Mad Max in the future!"

"Mad Max?," asked the Doctor.

"Yes, everybody's driving, somewhere. You've seen Mad Max!"

"Yeah, I know what Mad Max is." He paused. "Driving. The motorway."

The Doctor pointed the sonic at the computer. A screen with a female presenter flickered on, showing pictures of the sunset of the New Atlantic.

"If no one's alive out here," said Donna, "who's sending that?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No one. It's all automated. In fact, the whole motorway system, it's the only thing in the whole city that's still showing any power. The whole system should have collapsed, all the controls are up here, there's no one to run it, looks as if it's been a while now. So, where's the power coming from?"

"The motorway's automated?," asked Donna. "How does that work?"

The Doctor pulled up another schematic on the monitor and motioned at it. Donna tiptoed around the skeleton to have a look.

"See? The whole thing's one big circuit, all the exits are shut because there's no power to open them."

"What? So people are just driving around and around?"

The Doctor nodded. "Never to be seen again. 'They all go to the motorway in the end.'"

"So, they're trapped in there?"

"A whole city." He flipped through the CCTV feed, showing cars after car not moving anywhere. "Oh, here's the fast lane. Rose must be in one of these. There's got to be some way of contacting her."

They then heard a scream coming from the fast lanes.

"What was that?," asked Donna.

"Don't know. It's coming from the floor of the motorway. Let me find a better angle."

"I can't see a thing," said Donna.

"That must be the exhaust fumes," said the Doctor. He sonicked the controls. "That ought to clear things up a bit."

"I can't decide what's worse, being stuck in the jam from hell or walking around up here." She looked at the screen, not believing her eyes. "Sorry, but are those giant crabs?"

"Macra," said the Doctor.

"So, is that a yes on the giant crabs then?"

"The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."

"Giant crabs enslaving humans?," asked Donna.

"Well, they were more people sized then. Well, not really, now that I think about it. A fair size."

"Crab people?"

Suddenly, there was a flicker of light and they were face to face with a cat nun holding a gun. Donna grabbed the Doctor's arm.

"Well," said the Doctor, "crab people, cat people, all sorts."

"Doctor, you have got to come with me," she said.

"Do I know you?," he asked, stepping forward, Donna still attached to his arm.

"You haven't aged at all," she said, lowering her head. "Time has been less kind to me."

"Novice Hame!," he exclaimed. "Oh, wait a minute. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation."

"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself."

"I'm not going anywhere. You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! People are trapped down there! And if Rose is still alive, she's stuck down there as well!"

Donna leaned forward. "I'm Donna, by the way. Thanks for introducing me, spaceman."

"Oh, sorry," said the Doctor. "This is Donna."

"You've got to come with me right now!," she said, grabbing the Doctor's wrist.

"Don't you dare!," said the Doctor.

* * *

><p>"Try again," Cheen implored Milo.<p>

They had finally made it to the Fast Lane. The only problem seemed to be that every exit was closed. Milo tapped another one on the screen eliciting another "Exit Closed" message.

"Brooklyn Turnoff One closed," the computer announced.

"Try the next one," said Cheen.

"Brooklyn Turnoff Two closed."

Cheen moaned. "What do we do?"

"They can't all be closed," said Rose.

"We'll keep going round. We'll do the whole loop. By the time we come back round, they'll be open," said Milo.

The rumbling began again. The three looked at each other.

"I don't think that's air vents," said Rose.

"What is it then?," asked Milo.

"How should I know?," asked Rose.

The rumbling worsened.

"What the hell is that?," Cheen said in a panic.

"It's just the hydraulics," said Milo.

"Sort of sounds alive," said Rose.

"It's all exhaust fumes out there. Nothing could breathe in that."

The computer spoke again. "Calling Car Four Six Five Diamond Six. Repeat, calling Car Four Six Five Diamond Six."

Milo spoke into the transmitter. "This is Car Four Six Five Diamond Six. Who's that? Where are you?"

The person spoke again. "I'm in the fast lane, about fifty yards behind. Can you get back up? Can you get off the fast lane?

"We only have permission to go down. We need the Brooklyn Flyover," said Milo.

"It's closed. Go back up."

"We can't. We'll just go round."

"Don't you understand? They're closed. They're always closed!," the girl on the line shouted.

Cheen screamed, clasping her hands over her mouth. Rose looked wide-eyed to the monitor.

"We're stuck down here. And there's something else. Out there, in the fog. Can't you hear it?"

The roar grew shriller and louder and seemed closer than ever.

"That's the air vents," Milo insisted.

"Jehovah! What are you, some stupid kid? Get out of here!"

They heard screams over the line along with bumps and crashes.

"What was that?," asked Milo as the screams grew louder.

"I can't move! They've got us!"

"But what's happening?

Rose grabbed the transmitter. "What's got you? What is it?"

She said something, but it was incoherent.

All that was left was the flickering of static.

Milo took the transmitter back. "Hello?

The voice on the other end spoke again. "Just drive, you idiots! Get out of here! Get out!"

"Can you hear me? Hello?"

"Just drive!," shouted Rose. "Keep us out of here long enough for the Doctor to find me!"

"But where?"

"I don't know! Drive!," shouted Rose.

"What is it? What's out there? What is it?," sobbed Cheen.

"I don't know," said Rose, "but it's alright because the Doctor is going to come and save us. He always does."

* * *

><p>The Doctor, Donna and Novice Hame found themselves on the floor of somewhere.<p>

"Oh. Rough teleport," said the Doctor, picking himself up. "Donna?"

Donna groaned and looked to see she was lying next to a skeleton.

"Donna? You alright?"

"It's like I want to throw up and can't," said Donna.

"Okay, up you go," said the Doctor, helping Donna off the floor.

"Are there going to be skeletons everywhere?," Donna asked Novice Hame. "Listen, I'm not trying to be rude, but do you think you maybe want to get some sort of clean up scheme together?"

"How long's it been like this?," asked the Doctor.

"Twenty-four years," she answered.

"What happened?," asked the Doctor.

"A new chemical. A new mood. They called it bliss." She knelt down to pick one of the stickers up off a skeleton to show them. "Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished, even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved."

"And that's why everything's on automatic?," asked Donna.

Novice Hame nodded. "There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."

"Who's we?," asked the Doctor.

"Is it a dog person?," asked Donna.

"Doctor," a deep, low voice called.

The Doctor ran in the other room, quickly followed by Donna and Novice Hame.

"the Face of Boe!," the Doctor cried joyfully.

Donna found herself looking at a giant head in a jar.

"Donna, this is the Face of Boe. Face of Boe, Donna," said the Doctor.

"Hello," said Donna.

"I knew you would come," said the Face of Boe.

"In the old days, I was made his nurse as penance for my sins," said Novice Hame.

"Really?," asked Donna. "What do you do?"

"Donna..." said the Doctor.

"I'm just asking. Don't tell me you weren't wondering."

The Doctor looked at the Face of Boe. "Old friend, what happened to you?"

"I am failing," said the Face of Boe.

"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The undercity would have fallen into the sea," said Novice Hame.

"You saved them," said the Doctor.

"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."

"How'd he do that?," asked Donna.

"Donna..."

"Fine!," said Donna. She looked at the Face of Boe. "You and I will chat later when someone's not around."

Donna thought she almost saw the Face of Boe smile.

"But there are planets out there. You could have called for help," said the Doctor.

Novice Hame shook her head. "The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."

The Doctor got back up and walked towards Novice Hame. "So the two of you stayed, on your own, for all these years."

Novice Hame looked down. "We had no choice."

"Yes, you did," said the Doctor.

"Save them, Doctor," the Face of Boe implored. "Save them."

* * *

><p>They had been driving for what Rose knew was only moments, but seemed to be ages. They rumbling was deafening. They couldn't get anyone else talking on the transmitter. They screamed as they just barely made it out of what seemed to be some sort of claw.<p>

"Shut it off!," said Rose.

"What?," asked Milo.

"That thing can't see us, so it's got to be the lights or the heat or something, so shut it off! It could buy us some time!"

Milo looked at Cheen. She urgently nodded her acquiescence.

Milo shut off the controls. The rumbling grew distant and they were no longer being chased.

"How did you know that?," asked Cheen.

Rose shrugged. "This mate of mine. Mickey. He was into all sorts of geek stuff, submarine films. I watched one with him. It's what they did."

"Mickey? Is he your boyfriend?," asked Cheen.

"What? No! Well, not anymore. It's complicated. I'm with the Doctor now."

"Really?," asked Milo.

Rose looked at Milo. "What do you mean?"

Rose caught Cheen giving Milo a look.

"He just seemed more into that other woman," he said.

"Donna? Don't be stupid."

"It seemed like he really fancies her," said Milo. "When you said he was with you, that was sort of surprising, that's all. Cheen thought you were his daughter."

Rose looked at Cheen. "His daughter!"

"Sorry," said Cheen. "Well, he's said he loved you, right?"

"What?," asked Rose.

"Well?"

"Of course he loves me," said Rose.

"But he hasn't said it," said Milo.

"No, he's not like that."

"Okay," said Milo.

"What's that mean?," asked Rose.

"Men can be complicated," said Cheen.

"Not really," said Milo.

"What do you mean?," asked Rose. "Are you saying that he doesn't love me?"

"Never mind," said Milo. "I didn't mean to start a fight. I can't even believe I'm having this conversation right now. We're using up air on this."

"There's no fight. The Doctor loves me and he's going to get us out of this," Rose said with implacable certainty.

"How much air's left?," asked Cheen.

"Two minutes," said Milo.

"Trust me," said Rose, "the Doctor will save us."

Milo took Cheen's hand.

"Right," said Milo, turning on the computer.

"Systems back online," announced the automated voice.

Milo looked at Rose. "Good luck."

"Good luck," said Rose.

They started driving.


	12. Gridlock, Part Four

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. I don't even own this on DVD, I just keep watching it on Netflix. Wait, I did buy it on iTunes so I could watch it at the gym, but that's it. So, thanks for the reads and reviews. There's over a hundred now! Yea! I know this chapter is short, I should have just kept going last time. Please enjoy and let me know what you think if you're so inclined. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna, Novice Hame and the face of Boe watched as the Doctor jumped around the room to and fro, grabbing this and that. He put a piece of tubing in Donna's hand.<p>

"Here, hold onto that," he said.

"How's this supposed to work?," asked Donna.

"Oh, Donna, it's much too complicated to explain," he said, using the sonic screwdriver on a circuit.

"What? Now I'm stupid? There's not even any wiring in this," she said, shaking the tube.

"Just trust me," said the Doctor. "I'm gonna take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity beds."

"Okay," said Donna. "See? Was that so hard?"

"There's not enough power," said Novice Hame.

"Ah, you've got power! You've got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch." He skipped over to a control panel. "hame, every switch you've got all the way up! I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people!"

"So, what are you going to do?," asked Hame.

"This!," he shouted as he flipped a ridiculously large switch.

Then all the lights went out.

"What was that you said?," asked Donna. "Trust me?"

"No, no, no, no!," he shouted. "The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through.

"Doctor…" said the Face of Boe.

"Yeah, hold on, not now," said the Doctor, intently looking at another panel.

"I give you my last…"

Donna looked at the Face of Boe as he gave a huge, raspy breath. All the lights in the room came on. The Doctor leapt up again in excitement.

"Hame, look after him! Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this," he said flipping a switch.

They could hear the noise from inside the Senate House as the roof of the motorway was opened.

"The open road! Ha!," shouted the Doctor. He ran towards another console and took a microphone. "Sorry, all the rest of that was just a lie. I'm the Doctor and this is an order: everyone drive up. ve opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast!"

Donna headed to the window and watched in amazement as the cars ascended from the motorway. The Doctor joined her at the window.

"How are you going to find Rose?," she asked.

"Oh, right." He spoke back into the microphone. "Rose Tyler, meet us at the Senate."

"Don't bring any crab people with you," Donna said dryly.

"Doctor!," said Novice Hame.

Donna and the Doctor turned to see the Face of Boe's tank cracking.

* * *

><p>Milo and Cheen dropped Rose off at the New New York Senate House, only too relieved to say farewell to her. She quickly hurried inside and was disturbed to see the collection of skeletons littering the floor.<p>

"Doctor?"

"In here," he said.

Rose entered to find the Doctor, Donna and Novice Hame kneeling on the floor next to the Face of Boe.

"What happened?," asked Rose.

"He saved you, not me," said the Doctor.

"My lord gave his life to save the city and now he's dying," said Hame.

"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, we can find you a new jar or something," said Donna. She caught sight of Rose's glare. "Why is that a stupid suggestion?"

"It's good to breathe the air once more," said the Face of Boe.

Novice Hame was practically boring holes into the Doctor. "Legend says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller."

The Doctor shot her a look. "Yeah, but not yet, who needs secrets, eh?"

"I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor."

"That's why we have to survive," said the Doctor, choking up. "The both of us."

"I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone."

They watched as his eyes closed and life left the Face of Boe. Donna patted his giant cheek affectionately as the Doctor struggled to fight off tears. Novice Hame wept openly and Donna quickly moved to comfort the nun.

"That's right," said Rose, suddenly taking the Doctor's arm. "You're not alone. You've got me."

* * *

><p>The three had made their way back to the TARDIS with Rose excitedly relaying her adventures, hardly pausing for breath. That was alright. Donna was exhausted and he was as close as he would get to exhausted after the business with the Face of Boe. He was struggling to put the Face of Boe's final secret out of his head. Once they were inside, Donna had excused herself to take a bath to wash the apocalypse off.<p>

"Thanks," said Rose.

"For what?," asked the Doctor as he put the TARDIS into the Time Vortex.

"Saving me. I knew you would. You always do."

The Doctor shook his head. "I hardly did anything."

"We're a pair, aren't we?," said Rose.

He really didn't want to know what she meant by that. He was screwing up the nerve to say something to her, when he looked up and suddenly had to dodge a kiss. He jumped to the other side of the console, pretending to intently push some button that just cleaned the pool.

When he looked up again, Rose was staring at him.

"Uh, good night, Rose," he said, quickly retreating into the corridor, hoping the TARDIS would cover his escape.

The Doctor was surprised to hear a knock on his door. Before he could answer, the door had opened and Donna was standing in his room in her pajamas.

"Oh, sorry," she said, "the door just opened."

"You found my room," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, it was only across the hall."

"No one's ever found my room," he said in amazement.

"Should I leave?," asked Donna.

"No, no," he said. "I'm just surprised. That's all."

The door shut behind Donna, startling her.

"You know, if this time machine doesn't work out, the TARDIS has a future as the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom," she said.

"Sorry," said the Doctor.

"No, I'm just a little jumpy after today. All of time and space and you take me to the one thing I'm afraid of: a bloody real life apocalypse."

"Sorry about that."

Donna shook her head. "It's alright. At least I didn't have to walk the Earth alone or something." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm always alright."

Donna nodded, not believing him. "My gran died two years ago."

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor, sitting on his chair.

"Yeah, anyway, I was there when she went and afterwards, I kept wondering what it would be like when I went. Does that sound completely self-centered?"

"No," the Doctor said quickly.

"You know, would I be old? Would I have family with me or would I just be some old lady in a rest home who dies alone because she never mattered to anyone?" She paused. "Didn't meet Lance too long after that. That explains some things, I suppose."

"You matter, Donna," said the Doctor. "You won't die alone."

"You and your friend were alike, though. I saw you. You don't like the idea of being alone, dying alone. Who can blame you?"

"Too much to do before then," said the Doctor, trying to put himself firmly in denial.

"Yeah, but you must think about it," said Donna. "You had family, didn't you?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

Donna nodded. "Was Rose the first person you met after that?"

"Close enough," he said.

"Your whole planet. Everyone's gone? There's no way there could be anyone else? Maybe there's a Time Lady or something."

"No," said the Doctor.

"He said you weren't alone, though," said Donna. "I don't think he meant Rose."

"He was wrong," said the Doctor, staring at her.

Donna got lost in his eyes for a moment, then realized things could suddenly get very awkward, very fast. She stood up from the bed. "I was just going to watch a film, in my room, on the sofa."

"Okay," said the Doctor.

"I was inviting you to watch it with me, you git," said Donna.

"Oh," said the Doctor.

"Just to unwind a bit. Do you want to?"

"Yes," said the Doctor.

Donna smiled. "Good. I'll get the popcorn."

"Where have you found popcorn?," asked the Doctor.

"There's a machine in the kitchen."

"What? Seriously?"

* * *

><p>Rose was already lying on the bed when she heard her door lock.<p>

The TARDIS was doing it again.

She didn't care. She wasn't going anywhere. She was too busy trying to analyze the kiss that wasn't.

Why wouldn't he admit it? What was stopping him? They were meant for each other. Why all this fooling around? What was with Donna?

She heard laughter down the hall. The Doctor and Donna laughing.

Maybe it just wasn't the right time. The Face of Boe and everything.

She could wait. He was worth it. Besides, he was all she had.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: So, because I'm having a hard time with the Dalek episodes (unless you want them to be completely boring)...<p>

_Next Time: Planet of the Hats_


	13. Planet of the Hats, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, try as I might. Sorry I didn't have a Sunday update, I guess you were all expecting that. I just meant it for the one time, but okay, let's stick with it: Sunday, every Sunday. It's date. I tried to make a 4th of July story fit in here, but in my head Rose kept ruining the American Revolution. Now, thank you for the reads and reviews and favorites and follows. Keep it coming. Let me know what you think if you are so inclined and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The last thing that Donna remembered, she and the Doctor had been in her room on that amazing sofa in front of the television. It had some sort of memory foam, it would be a shame to leave it behind. They had watched one movie, then another and not quite willing to put a close on the evening, Donna had implored the Doctor to start another one. She had fallen asleep at some point during it and when she woke up she was surprised to find herself tucked into her bed. She woke up, dressed for the day and went in search of the Doctor.<p>

She located him in the kitchen, eating a banana and making breakfast.

"Hello," she said.

"Good morning. It'll be done in just a minute."

"Thanks for putting me in bed last night," said Donna. "You sure your back's not broken?"

The Doctor smiled. "I'm stronger than I look and you are lighter than you think."

"No need to be nice, I know I'm not some super thin girl."

"Who wants that?" He paused. "I had fun last night."

Donna snorted. "I'm sure it was nothing compared to your usual fun."

"Maybe not, but I did have fun."

Rose walked in, all smiles. "Morning!"

"Morning," said the Doctor, not looking up from the cooker. "Uh, Donna, here you go."

"Oh, thanks," said Donna, taking the breakfast plate.

The Doctor sat down next to Donna at the table. Rose picked up an orange off the counter and tried to ignore the fact that the Doctor hadn't made her any breakfast. She sat with them.

"So, Donna, when are you going home?"

The Doctor looked over at Donna with big eyes. "You don't have to go yet!"

"You said one trip forwards, one backwards," said Rose.

"Yeah, but we can't be done yet," the Doctor said quickly. "We're just getting started. I know you've got that job, but I can get you there whenever. I had this other companion, Tegan, same sort of situation."

"Tegan?," asked Rose. "You never mentioned him when we met Sarah Jane."

"Her. She was an airline hostess."

"Airline hostess?," Rose asked sharply.

"Yes," said the Doctor, not knowing what the big deal was. He looked back at Donna. "You'll like this, Donna, do you know how she came to be on the TARDIS? She thought it was a police box."

"That's what you get for putting the words 'police box' on the outside of your time machine," said Donna.

"Suppose so," said the Doctor. "Those were great times. Tegan and Adric and Nyssa."

"Sorry," said Rose, "just how many other people have there been?"

Donna didn't look up from her breakfast for fear of uncontrollable laughter.

The Doctor looked back at Rose. "What do you mean?"

"How many people have you travelled with?"

"Oh," said the Doctor, "I don't know. I've lost count really. Forty something?"

"What?," asked Rose.

"Well," said Donna, finally gaining some composure, "I don't feel like going back to work quite yet."

"Brilliant!," said the Doctor. "I've got a surprise for you!"

The Doctor led them to the console room and performed some acrobatics with the controls and led them outside to a lush and perfectly manicured landscape.

"Can you guess where we are?," the Doctor asked Donna grinning.

Rose glowered.

"It's not like I know, I don't have images of every planet in the universe on file."

"Alright, Donna, that's fair, I'll give you a hint." The Doctor smiled and put a brown, beaten felt hat on his head.

Donna's jaw dropped. "Planet of the Hats! You brought me to Planet of the Hats!"

"Oh, yeah," said the Doctor, tossing a hat at her. Donna put it on gleefully.

"I don't get it," said Rose.

"Oh, it's just this inside joke Donna and I have."

"Inside joke?," asked Rose.

Donna rolled her eyes. This was getting tiresome. "Is that okay?"

"Fine by me," said Rose. "So, what are we doing here then?"

The Doctor's eyes darted from side to side. "We just came to see the Planet of the Hats."

"That doesn't seem very exciting," said Rose. She looked at Donna. "Then again, it was your idea."

"I don't know," said Donna. "I crawled over dead bodies yesterday, walking around the Planet of the Hats might be alright."

"I didn't exactly have fun either. I was stuck with these two people."

Donna had about reached her limit with Rose. Her usual behavior was pathetic enough, but this jealous streak was really the living end. "Yeah, that can be awful when you're stuck traveling with someone annoying," said Donna.

"Should we go?," the Doctor squeaked, not wanting to step in it.

"Yes," said Donna, taking his hand. She looked back. "Oh, Rose, you didn't bring a hat."

"Oh," said the Doctor. "Rose, go get a hat."

"Go get a hat?," asked Rose.

"Yeah," said the Doctor. "It's Planet of the Hats. You have to have a hat. Get a hat."

Rose reluctantly went back in the TARDIS.

"Shall we go?," the Doctor asked Donna.

"No, I think we had better wait for her in case she gets kidnapped or something," said Donna.

"Oh. Good point."

"God, she's woken up in a mood this morning."

"What do you mean?"

"The jealous thing she was doing. Does she do that often or is it just for my benefit?"

The Doctor thought on it. "No, she does that all the time." He paused. "She tried to kiss me."

"What?," asked Donna.

"I mean, I managed to avoid her, I just, I don't know."

"It's your own fault," said Donna. "You have to let her know you don't feel that way about her."

"I know, it's just, what am I supposed to do? Leave her on the side of the road somewhere?"

"You could drop her off at a friend's house," Donna said with a wink. "I can't imagine she has a lot of those, though."

Just then, Rose returned wearing a knit newsboy cap. "What?," she asked, suspecting she had missed something.

"Nothing," the Doctor said quickly. "Let's go down to the village."

* * *

><p>They walked down the hill to the nearby village. The Doctor said it was market day so it was very busy and there were people everywhere. Planet of the Hats was certainly an apt name. Everyone had hats and so many different kinds of hats. The Doctor pointed them out, which ones signified something like class or profession. Even the children had them to signify what year they were in school. The markets were full of stalls overflowing with yet more hats. The Doctor pointed out the several hat factories in the neighboring hills. This was just a small village, there were more hat factories around the planet to meet the neverending demand for more hats.<p>

"Should we do a spot of shopping?," the Doctor asked Donna.

"Shopping?," asked Rose.

"Yeah, you can't go to the Planet of the Hats and leave without a new hat." He looked at Donna. "What do you say?"

"Fine by me," said Donna.

Rose found the whole thing infuriating. She watched as the Doctor and Donna walked through the stalls of the market, stopping to examine hat after hat.

What the hell were they doing looking at hats? They were supposed to be off, having adventures! Not looking at hats! This kept happening to her, watching their backs as they explored some new worlds. It didn't feel right. The Doctor needed her. Why couldn't Donna see that?

"What's that?," asked Donna.

The Doctor turned to look. "What?"

Donna pointed. "There."

The Doctor looked. It seemed like a mannequin, about three feet high with a torso and limbs, but no head. It lurched forward.

"Oh, no," said Rose. "It's the Nestene Consciousness."

"No," said the Doctor. "Maybe it's a robot or something."

The creature walked forward, seeming to know exactly where it was going. It walked over to one of the vendors carrying a heavy carton it struggled with.

The vendor looked down. "Not that one!" He slapped the creature on the shoulder hard, making it stumble back. "Get the other one! And hurry up! I've been waiting hours!"

The creature went walking back.

"It's a person," said the Doctor.

"But it doesn't have a head," said Rose.

"A headless person on the Planet of the Hats?," asked Donna. "That's..."

"I know," said the Doctor.


	14. Planet of the Hats, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thank you for the reads and reviews and follows. I appreciate it all and I'm glad you're enjoying it. A bit short, but bear with me, I have a headache and am trying to keep to our Sunday appointment. Let me know what you think of this one if you're so inclined and happy reading!

* * *

><p>"How can it... How can it work without a head?," asked Donna.<p>

"Big universe, Donna, everything happens somewhere."

"So, you have no idea?," she asked.

"No, absolutely none."

"Maybe its brain is somewhere else," suggested Rose.

"Maybe," said the Doctor.

They had been following the headless creature for nearly a half hour as it went about its work. It had gone back to a warehouse and picked up another heavy load and taken it back to the market. Then it had to haul something else back. They were back at the warehouse again.

"Don't follow too close," said Donna. "I don't want him to think we're nutters."

"Aren't we, though?," asked the Doctor with a smile.

Rose sighed. "It doesn't have a head, how's it even going to know we're following?"

"Come on, Rose," said the Doctor, "don't want to be rude."

"We are, though," said Donna. "He understood that vendor."

"What? Are you going to walk over there and introduce yourself?," asked Rose.

"Yeah," said Donna, casting Rose a glance over her shoulder. She walked over to the headless person as the Doctor followed a few steps behind. "Um, hi."

The headless creature stopped.

"Sorry, I don't know if you've noticed us following you..."

Rose scoffed.

"Ignore her," Donna said, waving dismissively at Rose. "Anyway, we were just wondering what was going on with you."

Obviously, the headless person did not answer.

"Good one," muttered Rose.

"Well, it was worth a shot," said the Doctor.

They heard a high whistle. The headless person began walking somewhere else.

They walked out onto the village green where dozens of other headless people were also walking.

"What's going on?," asked Rose.

"I think they're heading somewhere," said the Doctor. "We had better follow them."

* * *

><p>The headless people all marched through the field and up the nearby hill into what was a gleaming warehouse. The Doctor, Donna and Rose were not far behind as they filed inside and went into individual compartments.<p>

"What are they doing?," asked Donna.

The Doctor stepped closer. They were plugged into various devices, water coming through intraveously in one, food in another, at where their head should have been, there was some kind of electricsl field.

"Doctor, look at this," said Donna.

He looked at where Donna had pointed.

"It's some kind of serial number," he obsserved.

"Yeah," said Donna, "see how they move up? They're in some kind of order."

"So?," asked Rose.

Dpnna sighed. "So, your parents don't give you a number. They give you a name. You're assigned a number."

"You don't know that," Rose snapped.

Donna rolled her eyes. "So what if they aren't born headless? What if these numbers correspond to names?"

"But you can't walk around with your head cut off," said Rose.

The Doctor was looking more closely at the electrical field above the headless people. "Oh, but I think you can. That field. It's coming from somewhere, providing electrical impulses to keep the body going."

"How can it keep going when it leaves here?," asked Donna.

"Some sort of suspended animation matrix," said the Doctor. "Probably has to come here to recharge every night. This field leads somewhere."

"So, are we going to stand here or find out where?," asked Donna.

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, Donna Noble, I like the way you think." he took out the sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the field. "Allons-y!"

They followed the bleeping of the sonic screwdriver down another corridor and up some metal stairs.

"Why's there no one here?," asked Rose.

"It's all automated," said the Doctor. "Oh, here we go."

They arrived at a pair of great metal doors. The Doctor aimed the sonic screwdriver at a giant lock. It popped open and the Doctor lead the way inside.

The room was lined with shelves with numerous lockers.

"Look," said Donna, pointing out a metal disc found on each one, "the same numbers as downstairs."

"Let's see what's inside," said the Doctor. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the main control.

"Ever get tired of using that thing?," asked Donna.

"Using what thing?," asked the Doctor.

Donna laughed. Rose glared.

"Oh, bit of trouble here," said the Doctor.

"How'd you get that thing anyway?," asked Donna.

"I made it myself."

"Really?," asked Donna.

"Yes, really," groaned Rose.

The Doctor looked over at Rose pouting and then back at Donna. "Almost done then."

The lockers popped open revealing that each one within contained a head in a sort of tank.

"Oh, my God," said Donna.

"Well, I supposed we know where the heads went," said the Doctor. "You were right, Donna. They weren't born headless."

"Well, how'd they get that way then?," asked Rose.

"Must have fallen off," said Donna.

"Does anyone else hear that?," asked the Doctor as he wandered off.

Donna was suddenly surprised to find Rose in her face. "What are you trying to do?," she asked.

"Sorry?," asked Donna.

"Do you think you're special or something? Throwing yourself at him?"

Donna laughed. "I'm throwing myself at him! Look in the mirror, madame!" She hated herself for suddenly sounding like her mother. God, this girl brought out the worst in her.

Rose shook her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Donna!," the Doctor called. "Come have a look at this!"

Donna headed towards the sound of the Doctor's voice. Rose grimaced as she hurried to play catch up. They found him in front of a huge black panel that seemed to take up an entire wall.

"See?," said the Doctor. "Each of the bodies has one of these sensors on it, that's how they move around so well. The data goes back through the neural feedback center and gets processed by the brains here."

"Yeah, but why?," asked Rose.

"Is it a punishment?," asked Donna. "If hats are everything here and you don't have a head, you can't wear one, you're nothing, aren't you?"

"You are clever," said the Doctor.

"The whistle's some kind of control then?," asked Rose, desperate to pipe in.

"Uh, yes," the Doctor said confirming that. He waved at the wall. "This whole panel's a giant control mechanism."

"Doctor," said Donna, "why's everything lighting up?"

The Doctor looked to see that the panel was indeed lit up like a Christmas tree all of a sudden.

"I don't know, good question."

They heard chanting in the next room where the heads were and quickly went to follow it.

The heads had opened their eyes and were repeating a single word.

_"Revolt. Revolt. Revolt_," they said again and again.

They heard a clamor downstairs and rushed to the window to see the legs and torsos marching out of the warehouse.

"Oh," said the Doctor, "I suppose that's why the panel lit up."

"Yeah, I think so," said Donna.


	15. Planet of the Hats, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Neither do Davies or Moffat technically, think about that. Anyway, thanks for the reads, reviews, follows and favorites as always. Hope you like this one and let me know what you think. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>The three time travelers stood at the window watching the headless people begin their march.<p>

"Well," said the Doctor, licking his lips, "you don't see that every day, do you?"

Donna responded by slapping him on the arm.

"Ow!," he said. "That really hurt!"

"Have you got a solution?," asked Donna. "Or is the last thing everyone in the village sees going to be a headless person standing over them holding an axe?"

"An axe? Where would they get axes from?"

"Does it matter?," she snapped.

"Right!," said the Doctor, hopping back towards the panel. "What do we have here?"

"Maybe you could shut it off," said Rose.

"No, that would just short circuit the whole matrix, leave them running like that. This is the central processing unit for the whole facility, all of their thoughts are in their, processing through one- ooh, that's quite good!"

Donna just then spotted a headless person heading straight for them carrying a piece of piping.

"Doctor," said Donna.

"See, it all gets processed through the same place, the system's in a logjam! Finally, all their conscious thought streamed forth in one big bout of anger!"

"Doctor," said Donna as the headless person got closer.

"You know, the kind of anger you get from having no head! So, obviously those emotions converged and came out in revolt!"

"Doctor!"

Rose grunted. "Oh, God, would you knock it off already?"

Rose finally looked over at Donna, which she was trying not to do, and she realized that Donna had been trying to get the Doctor's attention about the angry headless person. She screamed.

"Oh, what is it with you two?," said an exasperated Doctor. He then looked and saw the headless person. "Oh."

"Can't you stop it?," screeched Donna.

"Uh, right, stopping it," his fingers flew up and down the controls. "Does he have a number on him?"

"I'm sort of looking at the piping he's swinging!"

"Rose, distract him. Donna, check his back."

"What do you mean distract him?," shouted Rose.

"I don't know! Improvise!"

Before Rose knew it, the Doctor had shoved her in front of the headless person. She froze as it approached and jumped away, narrowly missing getting smacked in the head with the piping. She started running in a zig zag around the room, screaming as Donna followed the headless person around.

"Slow down!," shouted Donna.

"He's got piping!"

"How fast can he go? He's got no head!," Donna shouted.

"Float like a bee!," shouted the Doctor. He paused. "Wait, Donna, is that butterflies? Bees are less floaty than butterflies!"

"Does it matter?," snapped Donna.

"Maybe," said the Doctor.

Rose floated like a bee some more and Donna was finally able to see the number. "Six five two four five!"

"Right! Lucky six five two four five!" The Doctor's fingers flew across the controls and one of the tanks nearest them lit up, just as the headless man stopped moving.

"Oh, good grief," said the head in the tank. a man with plump cheeks and mischievous eyes. "That hat is so last year."

"What?," asked Rose.

Donna walked over to the lit up tank. "Hi."

"Oh, hello. Love the feathers."

"Thanks," said Donna, touching them quickly. "So, that's you over there?"

"Yeah, it's me," he said with a smile. Rose was taken aback as he quickly waggled his fingers. "Sorry about your daughter there. I don't know what came over me, something about her voice?"

"She's not my daughter," said Donna. "Thank God."

"I'm not her daughter!," Rose shouted from by his body.

"Yes, thank you, I heard her!," said the head. He rolled his eyes at Donna. "Teenagers."

"I'm twenty!," said Rose.

"What's your point?," the head shouted back.

The Doctor walked over to the tank. "Sorry, pardon me for asking, but how did you lose your head?"

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

"Oh?," asked the Doctor.

"Fine! I robbed a milliner's. There. Happy? Do I deserve to get my head chopped off?"

"No," said the Doctor.

"Could you put down the piping?," Rose shouted.

The head sighed as his arm tossed down the piping across the room.

"So, they chopped off your head for robbing a shop?," asked Donna. "That's awful."

"Tell me about it."

Rose joined them by the tank.

"How much eyeliner are you wearing?," asked the head.

"Well, this is easy," said the Doctor. "All we have to do is to reunite the heads with their bodies, give them thought again."

"That would be nice," said the head.

"What? Sew them back on again?," asked Rose.

The Doctor walked over to the body and scanned the top with his sonic screwdriver. "No, afraid not. We can reunite the thought process, though. Hope you lot don't mind carrying your heads around."

"Anything's fine as long as I can get some sun," said the head.

* * *

><p>After the heads were reunited with their bodies, Donna watched as the Doctor stood next to the man carrying his own head in a tank and gave the gratefu,l but chastened people of the Planet of the Hats, a stern lecture about why it was not alright to chop someone's head off, even if they had done something really bad like robbing a milliner's. Rose sided up next to her.<p>

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," said Rose.

"I don't know what you mean," said Donna.

"The bit where I said you were throwing yourself at the Doctor. I just don't want you to be be disappointed."

Donna rolled her eyes. "God, this is why I'm glad not to be twenty."

"What?," asked Rose. "I was apologizing."

"I know. I believe you think you were apologizing. I might even believe that you think you don't want me to be disappointed, even though everything you've said today is to the contrary. That's what being twenty is. You're old enough to think you're grown up, but not old enough to actually be grown up."

"What?"

"Has he said he loves you?"

Rose stiffened. "I don't know why-"

"Has he said he loves you?," asked Donna.

"He loves me," said Rose.

"But has he said it?"

"He doesn't have to."

"Oh, yes, he does."

"Look, just because you were in a loser relationship with a bloke who was going to feed you to a spider, doesn't make you an expert on relationships."

Donna shook her head. "Oh, Rose, if only it was just Lance. There was Ian, completely gay. Harold, sent to jail for defrauding pensioners. Edward, gay. Scott, borrowed a thousand quid from me to see his grandmother who was supposedly dying in Israel and I never saw him again. Richard, seeing another woman and also gay. I have a whole other list of blokes who called me fat or stupid or never called back. Do you want that one?"

"What's your point?," asked Rose.

Donna froze for a moment. Rose was never going to believe her. If she confronted the Doctor now, he was just going to fold like a bloody house of cards and Rose would be planning the wedding. God help anyone who got in her way, she had more than an inkling Rose might be difficult to manage if the bridesmaids' dresses came back in the wrong shade of lilac. Donna had seen enough weddings to know the type.

"Just maybe you don't know everything," said Donna.

"Maybe you don't know everything," said Rose.

"Right," said Donna, not knowing if she had expected to get through to her. "I'm going to go buy a hat."

Donna walked away from Rose just as the Doctor approached.

"Where's Donna going?"

"I don't know," said Rose. "She's off to buy a hat or something."

"Oh," said the Doctor. "We had better go with her."

"Why?," asked Rose. "Can't we just do something? The two of us? Like it used to be?"

"Oh," said the Doctor, "well, that wouldn't be fair to Donna, would it? What if we were somewhere with Adam or Jack or Mickey and we left one of them behind?"

"You left all of them behind," said Rose.

"Yeah, well, um..." he looked desperately into the distance. "Donna!"

Rose watched as the Doctor bounded off to look at hats with Donna. This couldn't be right. It just couldn't. He was in love with her, he had to be. She had chosen to stay with him. What was going on? As Rose wondered what went wrong, she found herself biting her lower lip, willing herself not to cry.

* * *

><p><em>Next Time: Daleks in Manhattan <em>


	16. Daleks in Manhattan, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Still! I can't even find where to buy it. Thank you for the reads and reviews, follows and favorites. Hello, lurkers. How are things? Anyway, let me know what you think if you want and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The morning after the Planet of the Hats, Donna was not in a mood to deal with Rose. The Doctor had taken them to dinner at this restaurant where the chef had nine heads and two heads and Rose had pouted the whole time. She had signed on to help the Doctor out because he was hopeless, not deal with some moody teenager. She hadn't realized it was one and the same. If she wanted a moody teenager, she would have had one. Not that she didn't eventually want a moody teenager because that would be the natural outcome someday of having children, but they certainly wouldn't be like Rose Tyler. God help her if they were.<p>

She took a long bath and then used the hydro massage table that had suddenly appeared in her bathroom along with a steam room. This ship was so intent on keeping her happy for some reason. She was starting to wonder about how she would ever go back to her flat with the loose tiles and the loud, groaning faucet.

She came out of the bathroom to find that there was something waiting on the television in front of the sofa. It blinked "PLAY." Donna walked over to the screen and pushed the flashing indicator.

It was the console room. A video of the console room. The Doctor ran out. Rose was there, along with an older woman. Her mother? Had to be.

"You've changed so much," she said.

"For the better..." Rose insisted.

"I suppose," the woman said, clearly not convinced.

"Mum, I used to work in a shop," said Rose, voice dripping with contempt at the last word.

"I've worked in shops. What's wrong with that?," Rose's mum asked sharply.

"No, I didn't mean that," Rose said quickly.

"Sure sounded like you did," said Donna.

"I know what you meant. What happens when I'm gone?," she asked.

"Don't talk like that!"

The woman turned serious. "No, but really. When I'm dead and buried, you won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think you'll ever settle down?," she asked.

"The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling."

"And you'll keep on changing. And in forty years time, fifty, there'll be this woman - this strange woman... walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. She's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human..."

The video ended.

Poor woman, thought Donna. She was just worried about her daughter, not wrongly. Even if her daughter was intolerable. Everyone had a mum. There was nothing wrong with travelling or changing, but maybe Rose couldn't handle it.

Donna looked at the ceiling. "Why did you show me this?," she asked.

The ship hummed like it was obvious.

* * *

><p>Donna was grateful that Rose wasn't in the console room when she got there. If she wanted to edge Donna out, she would have to get up a lot earlier.<p>

"Good morning, Donna!," the Doctor said brightly. He held out a bag. "Doughnut? I picked them up from a little place I know on New Neptune."

"Thanks," said Donna, taking one out. It had a purple dough and blue frosting. She took a bite. "It's good."

"Glad you like it," said the Doctor.

"Listen," said Donna, "I was wondering about Rose's mum."

"Jackie?," asked the Doctor.

"Is that her?," asked Donna.

The Doctor shrugged. "You know, she was Rose's mum."

"Great. Thanks for that description."

The Doctor smiled. "I don't know. She lover her obviously. Worried about her. Slapped me."

Donna smiled at the last bit. "A woman after my own heart, then. She didn't want her travelling with you, did she?," asked Donna.

"Uh, no." He paused. "She was right, as it happens."

"Rose made her own choice. It's not your fault," said Donna.

"Of course it is," said the Doctor.

Donna was about to say something when Rose entered.

"So," said Rose, "where are we off to today?"

Donna shook her head. "Could you say 'Good Morning' maybe?"

"Good morning," Rose said sharply. "So, where are we going?"

"Oh, that's much better," muttered Donna.

* * *

><p>They walked out of the TARDIS and onto an island.<p>

"Ah, smell that Atlantic breeze. Nice and cold. Donna, have you met my friend?," asked the Doctor.

Donna looked up to see the Statue of Liberty. "Oh, my God!"

"Gateway to the New World. 'Give me you tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to break free…'"

"When are we?," asked Rose.

The Doctor looked across the water. "Well, the Empire State Building's not finished yet. Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around—"

Donna spotted a newspaper on a nearby bench. "November 1, 1930," Donna read.

"Blimey, you're good," said the Doctor.

Donna waved the newspaper at him.

"Yeah, just brilliant," said Rose.

The Doctor looked at the headline. "Oh."

"Oh? Oh what?," asked Donna. She looked back at the front page. "Hooverville Mystery Deepens?"

"I think we may have a detour," said the Doctor.

"Your whole life is a detour," said Donna.

"What's Hooverville?," asked Rose.

* * *

><p>They caught a ferry across to the island of Manhattan. The Doctor led them to Central Park.<p>

"Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, came to power a year ago. Up till then New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties, and then…"

"Then what?," asked Rose.

"The stock market crashed," said Donna.

"Yeah. Whole economy wiped out overnight. Thousands of people unemployed. Suddenly, the huddled masses doubled in number with nowhere to go. So they ended up here in Central Park," said the Doctor.

"In the middle of the city?," asked Rose. "That's horrible. How can they let that happen?"

"Why? Because we don't have homeless in London?," asked Donna. "Or would you not know that because you're too good for there?"

"I didn't say that," said Rose.

"Anyway..." said the Doctor.

They arrived at Hooverville. It was a tent city with people in shabby clothes and camp fires. Donna had to jump out of the way to avoid a fight that was going on. A man had just punched another man.

A black man in a suit headed over to break them up. He was obviously the leader. "Cut that out! Cut that out! Right now! What's happening here?"

"He stole my bread!"

"That's enough," said the man. He turned to the other man. "Is that true?"

"I don't know what happened. He just went crazy."

The other man lunged again. The man stopped him and looked back.

"Now, think real hard before you lie to me."

He folded. "I'm starving, Solomon."

He surrendered a small loaf of bread. Solomon took it and broke it in half.

"We're all starving," said Solomon. "We all got families somewhere. No stealing and no fighting. You know the rules. Thirteen years ago I fought in the Great War. A lot of us did. And the only reason we got through was because we stuck together! No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings. It's all we got."

"Come on," the Doctor said to the women. He approached Solomon. "Suppose that makes you the boss."

"And who might you be?," asked Solomon.

"He's the Doctor," said Rose. "And I'm Rose."

Donna sighed. "Right. Donna Noble."

"Doctor and Mrs. Noble, that makes the neighborhood sound classy."

"They're not a couple," said Rose.

Solomon gave her an odd look.

"How many people are there here?," asked Donna, looking around.

"At any one time, hundreds. No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville. We are a truly equal society, black, white, all the same. All starving," he laughed. "So you're welcome. All three of you. But tell me, Doctor, you're a man of learning, right? Explain this to me."

Solomon pointed at the Empire State Building.

"That there's going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they can do that, and we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"

Donna scoffed. "There's no profit in housing people who can't afford to pay."

"A cynic, then?," asked Solomon.

"Oh, I've been in enough posh offices to become that to say the least," said Donna. "Had my bum pinched more than once."

"What?," asked the Doctor. "Who? When?"

Donna looked at him. What was he getting all protective for? "I don't know, it's not as if I keep it all in my diary."

"You have a diary?," asked the Doctor.

"No," said Donna.

"So," said the Doctor, pulling the newspaper out of a too small pocket of his coat for Solomon's benefit, "men going missing, is this true?"

Solomon took the newspaper and walked in the tent. Donna, the Doctor and Rose poked their heads in.

"It's true alright," Solomon said, waving them in.

"Yeah," said Donna, "but it's not like you keep a guest book or anything, is it? How do you know?"

"This is different," said Solomon.

"How?," asked Rose.

"Someone takes them. At night. We hear something. Someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone. Like they vanish into thin air."

"And you're sure someone's taking them?," asked the Doctor.

"Doctor, when you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got. Your knife, blanket, you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten, fire still burning," said Solomon.

"Haven't you been to the police?," asked Rose.

Solomon scoffed. "Yeah, we tried that. Another deadbeat goes missing, big deal."

"The question is, who's taking them?," asked the Doctor. "And what for?"

A young man rushed in. "Solomon, Diagoras is here."

The man left and Solomon followed. The three time travelers followed to see what the commotion was.

"Diagoras," said Donna. "Sounds like a Greek Bond villain."

The Doctor laughed. Donna caught sight of another glare from Rose. She was starting to think it was her default expression.

They saw the man himself. A tall man with olive skin and dark hair, wearing a pinstripe suit.

"So, he's not a Bond villain," said Donna. "He's James Cagney in Public Enemy."

"Nothing wrong with pinstripes," said the Doctor.

"Not on you," said Donna.

"Really?," asked the Doctor.

"I need men. Volunteers. I got a little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money," said Diagoras.

"What's the money?," asked Solomon.

"A dollar a day," he said as if he was being magnanimous.

The men grumbled.

"What's the work?," asked Solomon.

"A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel that collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?"

Solomon spoke up again. "A dollar a day? That's slave wage. Men don't always come back up, do they?"

"Accidents happen."

"What sort of accidents?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, don't even," hissed Donna.

Diagoras shook his head at the Doctor. "You don't need the work? That's fine. Anybody else?"

The Doctor raised his hand.

"Enough with the questions," said Diagoras.

"Oh, no, no, no, I'm volunteering," said the Doctor.

"Me, too!," said Rose eagerly.

The Doctor looked at Donna. She groaned and raised her hand.

"You're getting me new shoes," she said looking at the Doctor. "And I had better not die of some sewer disease."


	17. Daleks In Manhattan, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, not even Doctor Who Series Three. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I'm sorry about the delay, but it was unavoidable. I had a half marathon and this was immediately followed by a family member in the hospital, so, yeah. Anyway, I hope you like it, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Diagoras took them to the sewers. He outfitted them with tools and torches and seemed ready to be rid of them.<p>

"Turn left. Go about half a mile. Follow Tunnel 273. Fall's right ahead of you. You can't miss it," said Diagoras.

"When do we get our dollar?," asked Solomon.

"And if we don't come back up?," asked the Doctor.

"Then I got no one to pay."

"Right," said Donna. "You're a real charmer, you know that?"

"We'll be back," Solomon promised.

They began the long walk down the dark tunnel. Frank, the young man who had accompanied them sided up to Rose.

"We just gotta stick together. It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here."

"Right," said Rose, watching the Doctor and Donna walk in front of her. She looked at Frank. "So, how come you're here? Well, not here in the sewer. Hooverville."

"Uh, my daddy died. Mama…couldn't afford to feed us all. So, I'm the oldest, up to me to feed myself, so put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There's a whole lot of runaways in camp younger than me. From all over; Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas… Solomon keeps a lookout for us. So, what about you? You're a long way from home."

"I'm on my own, too," said Rose, forcing away thoughts of her mum, dad and Mickey.

"You stick with me, you'll be all right."

"So, who's this Diagoras bloke?," asked the Doctor.

"You know, other than a giant wanker," Donna added.

"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman. Now it seems as if he's running most of Manhattan," said Solomon.

"How did he manage that?," asked the Doctor.

"These are strange times. A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way around," said Solomon.

"He must have had help from someone," said Donna.

"Whoa!," shouted the Doctor.

They looked down. There was some sort of glowing, gelatinous thing on the floor.

"Oh, God," said Rose, covering her nose.

"What is that?," asked Donna.

Just then, the Doctor picked it up

"Why do you have to pick it up?," she asked. "Didn't your mother ever teach you anything? Never mind, you probably didn't listen."

"What do you think?," he said, waving it in front of her face.

"I think you shouldn't have picked it up!," snapped Donna.

The Doctor looked around. "You know what? We must be at least half a mile in and I don't see any sign of a collapse, do you? So why did Diagoras send us down here?"

"Oh, good, we're at that part," said Donna.

"What part?," asked Frank.

Donna motioned at the Doctor. "You have to know him."

"Nobody made you come," said Rose.

They heard a sort of scream coming from further down the tunnel.

"Hello?," called Frank.

"Frank," Solomon warned.

"What if it's one of the folk gone missing? You'd be scared, half-mad down here on your own."

"Do you think they're still alive down here?," asked the Doctor.

"Heck, we ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they're just lost."

"I know I never heard nobody make a sound like that," said Solomon.

The Doctor and Frank shined their torches down the tunnel, catching a glimpse of a figure on the ground in shadow.

"Who are you?," asked Solomon.

"Are you lost?," asked Frank. "Can you understand me? I've been thinking about folk lost…"

The Doctor stopped Frank from stepping forward, Donna grimaced as she realized that he was intending to go himself.

"It's all right, Frank. Just stay back. Let me have a look. He's got a point, though, my mate Frank. I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own. We know the way out. Daylight. If you want to come with us." He knelt down towards the creature. "Oh, but what are you?"

The Doctor's torch revealed that the creature had a pig face.

"Is that a mask?," asked Solomon.

"No, it's real. I'm sorry. I can help you," said the Doctor. "Who did this to you?"

Shadows fell on the wall in front of the Doctor. Donna looked as they grew closer.

"Doctor!," shouted Donna.

The Doctor looked up at the approaching gang of pig men. "Oh. Good point."

He stood up and started backing away as the rest of the gang retreated behind him.

"They're following you," said Rose.

"Yeah, I noticed that, thanks," said the Doctor. They kept walking backwards. "Well, then, Donna, Rose, Frank, Solomon..."

"What?," asked Rose.

"Um, basically-"

"Run," finished Donna.

"Yeah," the Doctor readily agreed. They all turned and started running for their lives as the pig men pursued them.

"Where are we going?," asked Donna.

"Over here! There's a ladder!," shouted the Doctor as he made a sharp about face. Donna narrowly avoided smacking into him.

"This way!," shouted the Doctor, turning towards a manhole. Donna was right behind him, followed by Rose.

The Doctor climbed up the ladder, using the sonic screwdriver to open the manhole cover. He popped it open and climbed up, then helped Donna, then Rose.

"Frank!," Solomon called as he started up the ladder.

Frank ran for the ladder and began climbing. The pig men followed him and began pulling at him.

"Come on, Frank!," said Solomon.

"I've got you!," said the Doctor.

It was no use. The pig men clawed and pulled at Frank dragging him down amongst them as they could only watch in horror. The Doctor looked as if he might have gone back for him, but Solomon shoved him aside and closed the cover.

"What did you do that for?," Donna yelled.

"You can't just leave him!," shouted the Doctor.

Solomon stiffened. "No, I'm not losing anybody else! Those creatures were from Hell! From Hell itself! If we go after them, they'll take us all! There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

"Alright! Put them up! No funny business!"

They turned to see a thin blonde woman pointing a gun at them. They all raised their hands in surrender.

"Now, tell me you schmucks, what have you done with Lazlo?," she asked.

Donna frowned. "Sorry. Who's Lazlo?"

The blonde led them to a dressing room where she proceeded to sit down in front of a mirror and weave her tale.

"Lazlo's my boyfriend, or was my boyfriend until two weeks ago. No letter, no good-bye, no nothing. And I'm not stupid," she said, waving the gun to emphasize her point. "I know some guys are just pigs but not my Lazlo. I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?

"Kevin Archer," said Donna. "Of course, he wanted me to break it to his mum that he was a homosexual. And a transvestite. He still has a pair of my shoes."

"What?," asked the woman, tilting her head.

"It might just help if you put that down," said the Doctor, motioning at the gun.

"Huh?" She looked at the gun in her hand as if she was surprised to see it. "Oh, sure."

She tossed the gun aside, scaring the four of them.

"Oh, come on. It's just a prop. It's not real. It was either that or a spear."

"Oh, well, good choice, then," said Rose.

"What do you think happened to your boyfriend?," asked Donna.

"I wish I knew. One minute, he there, the next, zip, vanished."

"Listen, ah, what's your name?," asked the Doctor.

"Tallulah."

"Tallulah-"

"Three Ls and an H."

"Right, we can try to find Lazlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures," said Solomon, still stunned by the spectre of them. "Such creatures."

"What do you mean 'creatures'?," asked Tallulah.

"Pig men, mostly," said Donna.

"Look, just trust me," said the Doctor. "Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is."

The Doctor pulled the blob out of his coat pocket.

"Yech!," said Tallulah.

Donna smacked the Doctor on the arm. "You put it in your pocket?"

"Well, at least I have them," he said with a smile.

"Right, you try paying a cab driver with that, see how it goes," said Donna.

* * *

><p>Donna and Solomon followed the Doctor to another props room.<p>

"What are we looking for?," asked Donna.

"Some sort of wavelength device I can convert into a chromosomal reader."

"And that means what?," asked Donna.

"What about this?," asked Solomon, holding up a radio.

"Perfect," said the Doctor. He took it and started manipulating the pieces. "It's the capacitors I need. I'm just rigging up a crude little DNA scan for this beastie. If I can get a chromosomal reading, I'll find out where it's from."

"What about you and your wife, Doctor?," asked Solomon.

"Wife?" He looked at Donna. "Oh."

"I've been all over. I've never heard anybody talk like you. Just exactly who are you two?"

"Oh, we're just passing by," said the Doctor.

"I'm not a fool, Doctor," said Solomon.

"No, of course not," said the Doctor.

"I was so scared, Doctor. I let them take Frank because I was just too scared. I gotta get back to Hooverville. With these creatures on the loose, we gotta protect ourselves. Ain't no one else gonna help us," he said resignedly.

"Good luck," said the Doctor.

"Good luck," Donna echoed.

Solomon left. Donna watched the Doctor re-rig the radio.

* * *

><p>Rose sat in Tallulah's dressing room, watching her prepare for her show amongst the bustle of the other performers.<p>

"Lazlo…He's wait for me after the show, walk me home like I was a lady. He'd leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rose," said Tallulah.

"How romantic," said Rose, envying Tallulah a little. "Did you report him missing or something?"

"Right. Who would care? The management certainly don't."

"You're the star, though. Couldn't you make them listen to you?"

Tallulah scoffed. "Look, honey, I got one stone in a back street revue and that's only because Heidi Chicane broke her ankle —which had nothing to do with me whatever anybody says. I can't afford to make a fuss. If I don't make this month's rent, then before you know it, I'm in Hooverville."

"I wouldn't let that stop me," said Rose. "I'd do anything for the Doctor."

Tallulah knitted her brow. "The hot potato in the sharp suit? You and him?"

"I thought so," said Rose. "Then, one day it was all about Donna. I don't know what he sees in her."

"The old broad? You've got more going on than her, you could get rid of her if you wanted."

"You really think so?," asked Rose.

"Of course, doll. You might want to go a little bit lighter on the eye makeup, though."

"Right," said Rose, feeling slightly chastened.

"Yout gotta live in hope, though," said Tallulah. She pointed at a rose. "Every night, before the show, I find one here."

"You really think it's Lazlo?," asked Rose.

"I don't know. If he's still around, why's he bein' all secret like he doesn't want me to see him?"

The other dancers started to fan out, ready for the show. Tallulah turned to Rose enthusiastically.

"Ever seen a real New York show?," asked Tallulah.

"I heard Wicked's good," Rose grumbled.

"Come on!," she encouraged.

* * *

><p>Donna sat in the other room watching as the Doctor attached pieces of the radio to the glowing green blob.<p>

"What is it anyway?," asked Donna. "And how did it get in the sewer?"

"Shh," said the Doctor.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Fine."

The Doctor listened intently with his stethoscope.

"Why do you suppose everyome thinks we're married or something?," asked Donna. "Obviously, I've been engaged to worse, but..."

Donna's thoughts trailed away from her as she realized the Doctor looked extremely cute sprawled out on the floor listening to the disgusting glowing blob. The blue suit looked extremely nice on him. She thought back to the Moon. He had been wearing it then. That made her think back to the kiss. The best kiss she had ever had in her life, given by a daft, skinny Martian.

"This is artificial," said the Doctor. "Oh, whoever did this, you're clever."

"Right. I'll be sure and let them know."

Music started from the stage.

"Showtime," Donna said.

"Not as good as Wicked, though," said the Doctor. He looked back at the glob. "Fundamental DNA type 467-989. 989. Hold on, that means planet of origin..."

"Haven't you got a chart or something?," asked Donna.

She worried as a look of horror and disbelief crossed his face.

"What is it?," asked Donna.

"Skaro."

"What's Skaro?"

The Doctor was about to answer when they heard screams coming. Screams they both clearly identified as Rose.

"Not again," said Donna, getting up to follow him. "She does this once a day at least."

The Doctor ran out as Donna followed.


	18. Daleks in Manhattan, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. So, a little late but its not Wednesday. I've had a super busy weekend. Thanks for the reads and reviews and follows. I'm still getting new follows which is sort of impressive. Thanks for joining. Hello again, lurkers. I might have picked a bone with Rose in Doomsday or whenever she meets the Daleks, see if you notice. I know, what else is new? So, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The Doctor hurried into the dressing room, where a gaggle of sequined showgirls were dismayed at the sight they had just seen. "I ain't never gonna sleep!," one remarked.<p>

"What happened?," asked the Doctor. "Who took her?"

"I don't know," said Tallulah. "She just vanished!"

Donna sighed. "That's our Rose."

Donna followed the Doctor into the next room. The lid on the manhole was once again open. The Doctor started descending the ladder.

"Donna, you stay up here," said the Doctor.

"Oh, yeah," said Donna, "let me just leave you on your own. That will be just great." Donna grimaced and tried not to let the smell in her nostrils as she followed the Doctor into the sewer.

"Oy ve," Tallulah grumbled.

Donna looked back up, surprised to see that Tallulah had put on a coat and was joining them.

"Tallulah, not you, too!," said the Doctor.

"LLook, whoever took Rose could have taken Lazlo, right?"

"I can't protect you," said the Doctor.

"Just try not to do anything stupid," said Donna. She looked ar the Doctor. "So, are we doing this or what?"

They walked down the dark tunnel. Donna was looking for a daft blonde and her roots when suddenly she realized the Doctor had pulled her and Tallulah away from the light and into an alcove.

And he had chosen to do so by grabbing her breast.

She would have registered an objection to this, but there were mitigating circumstances. One, he had shushed her and put his other hand over Tallulah's mouth, so she was fairly certain he meant for her not to speak. Two, it was really as much action as she had seen in ages and wasn't all that unpleasant. She decided she would deal with the post-feminist implications of that later.

Then third, a robot with a plunger and a mixer went by them.

Donna waited until it had passed before she asked, "Doctor, might I have my breast back?"

"What?" He looked down at where his hand had landed. "Oh, sorry. Nice, uh, well, no-" He was turning redder by the second.

"Shut up before you die of embarrassment," said Donna.

"What was that thing?," asked Tallulah.

"Yeah, second that," said Donna.

"It's called a Dalek," said the Doctor.

"A what?," asked Tallulah.

"The thing I missed scuba diving?," asked Donna.

"Yes," said the Doctor. He seemed possesed now.

"Doctor," said Donna, "what is it you're not telling me?"

"The Time War. We fought with the Daleks."

"Oh," said Donna, suddenly taken by the utter gravity of the thing.

"Time War?," asked Tallulah.

"Don't read too far into that," said Donna.

"So that thing was real? You've got to be kidding!," Tallulah shouted,

"Do I look like I'm kidding?!," asked the Doctor.

"Oi, go easy on the angst," said Donna. "She's a showgirl in the nineteen twenties, give her a minute to catch up."

"Donna, inside that shell is a creature born to hate. If we don't stop it, it'll kill every human being on Earth."

"But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies, it's from outer space," Tallulah reasoned aloud.

Donna turned back to the blonde. "Yeah, just let that sink in." She turned back to the Doctor. "Okay. What do we do?"

"I'm taking you back," said the Doctor, grabbing Donna by the arm. "You're coming too, Tallulah."

"Oi! Time Boy! What the hell do you think you're doing?!," Donna shouted.

Just as they rounded a corner in the tunnel, they caught a glimpse of another of the pig men. The Doctor let Donna out of his grip and shone his torch at the creature.

"Where's Rose?," he demanded. "What have you done with her?"

"I didn't take her," the creature answered in a shockingly non-pig man voice.

"Do you know ehere she is?," Tallulah asked softly, approaching the shadowed figure.

"Don't look at me!," the creature begged.

"What happened to you?," asked the Doctor.

"They made me a monster."

"Who did?"

"The masters."

"The Daleks. They did this to you? Why?"

"They needed slaves to steal more people, so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."

"Do you know where they have Rose?," asked the Doctor.

"They took her," said the pig man. "It's my fault. She followed me."

"Yeah, she does that," said Donna. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Were you in the theater?," asked Tallulah.

"Yes."

"Why? Why were you there?"

"I never wanted you to see me like this."

"Why me? What do I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

"Yes."

"Who are you?"

"I was lonely."

"Who are you?"

"I needed to see you."

"Who are you?," Tallulah insisted.

"I'm sorry." The man turned away.

"No, wait, let me look at you." Tallulah took his face in her hands, the realization dawning on her. "Lazlo? My Lazlo? What have they done to you?"

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Lazlo, can you show me where they are?," asked the Doctor.

"They'll kill you," Lazlo warned him.

"If I don't stop them, they'll kill everyone," said the Doctor.

Lazlo nodded in understanding. "Follow me."

They followed Lazlo down the tunnel to where people were surrounded by the pig men, They spotted Rose and Frank amongst them.

The pig men began to snort excitedly.

One of the Daleks came rolling down.

"Silence! Silence! You will form a line! Move! Move!"

The pig men moved them into position against the wall.

Donna looked at the Doctor. He didn't seem well. "What's wrong?," she asked.

"Rose will be fine if they don't recognize her."

Donna shook her head incredulously. "What's she done to them now?"

Another Dalek arrived. "Report."

"These are strong specimens. They will further the Dalek cause. What is the status of the final experiment?"

"The Dalekanium is in place. The conductor is now complete."

"Then I will extract prisoners for selection. Intelligence scan, initiate!" The Dalek pointed its plunger at the first man in the line. "Low intelligence! You will become a pig slave!"

The man protested as Lazlo turned to the Doctor, Donna and Tallulah to explain the process.

"Prisoners are divided between low intelligence and high intelligence. The low intelligence are taken and become pig slaves like me."

"That's not fair!," Tallulah protested. Donna shushed her. "You're the smartest guy I ever dated!"

"And the others?," asked the Doctor.

"They're taken to be part of the final experiment."

"Oh, that's not menacing at all." said Donna. She looked back at the display as Frank was scanned. "Why do all the pig slaves have the same coveralls? Have the Daleks gone shopping?"

The Dalek had finally turned its plunger to Rose. "Intelligence scan, initiate! Reading brain waves! Low intelligence!"

"Um, doesn't that mean they're going to make Rose into a pig slave?," asked Donna.

"Don't you remember me?," asked Rose.

"Oh, never mind," said Donna.

"The Bad Wolf?," asked Rose. "I took the Emperor, turned him into dust."

Donna rolled her eyes.

"She is an enemy of the Daleks," said the other Dalek. "We will take her to Dalek Sec to dispose of!"

"Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory!"

They started up the tunnel. Lazlo took Tallulah and started to leave. "Doctor, quickly!"

"I'm not coming," said the Doctor.

"Count me out then," said Donna.

Lazlo turned to Tallulah. "Do you remember the way?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then go. Save yourself," he said, sending her off.

The Dalek passed them, the Doctor and Donna hurried to join the queue behind it.

"I'm so glad to see you!," Rose said to the Doctor.

"Would you shut up?," asked Donna before the Doctor could answer. She motioned at the plunger wielding robot they were walking behind.

"Not as glad to see you," said Rose.

"How often do you get kidnapped?," asked Donna. "Just so I know."

The Doctor exchanged glances with Frank. "How are you?"

"I've been better," said Frank.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the Dalek laboratory, ushered in by the pig slaves.<p>

"Report!," said the Dalek.

"Dalek Sec is entering the final stage of evolution!"

"Prepare for birth!"

"Evolution?," asked the Doctor.

"Birth?," asked Donna. "Is it going to spit out a bunch of baby robots like a Russian nesting doll or something?"

"That's stupid," said Rose.

"Yeah, but not as stupid as pissing off the scary robots," said Donna.

"Ask them what they mean," the Doctor said to Donna.

"What? Me?," asked Donna.

"I can't be noticed. Ask them what's going on."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious."

"Do I have stupid written on my forehead or something? You want me to go over to them and ask what they're doing?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Donna, please, it'll answer you. Trust me."

"I'll do it," Rose volunteered.

The Doctor looked at her sternly. "You're in enough trouble already." He looked back at Donna, pleading with his eyes. "Please."

Donna sighed. There was no fighting those. That was how she'd gotten on this tour in the first place. She stepped forward. "Oi! Pepper pots!"

The Daleks failed to recognize this name.

"Oi! Dalek boys! I'm talking to you! Maybe you could spin around and look at me!"

The Daleks spun around.

"That's better," said Donna. "Now, what's this final experiment? What are you all up to? "

"You will bear witness."

"To what?," asked Donna.

"This is the dawn of a new age!"

"Yeah, you're going to have to be more specific," said Donna. "Usually when someone says that, there's a man in a Nehru jacket petting a white cat somewhere. What do you mean?"

"We are the only four Daleks in existence. For the species to survive, we must evolve a life outside the shell. The children of Skaro must walk again!." the Dalek answered.

They all looked on as the black Dalek on the far side of the room, powered down, the light vanishing from its eyestalk. The panels on its outer casing came open and out came a creature none of them could put a name to.

"What is it?," asked Rose.

"As best I can tell, it's some sort of bipedal Cyclops calamari person..." said Donna.

The creature decided to announce itself: "I am a Human Dalek!," it said, enunciating. still echoing the voice of the shell. "I am your future!"


	19. Evolution of the Daleks, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, because, well, if I did, no way does Rose beat Donna to the Best Companion Finals! Did anyone see that on Anglophenia? That was just ridiculous. Anyway, thank you for the reads and the reviews and favorites and follows. People are still finding this story, which is pretty cool. Anyway, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The assembled subjects were still in a state of shock as the Human Dalek hybrid proclaimed their collective destiny.<p>

"These humans will become like me," he said. "Prepare them for hybridization."

"Oh, I don't bloody think so!," said Donna. She looked around to see the Doctor had vanished. Typical bloke. "If you think you're turning me into a calamari, you have another thing coming. You'll be the catch of the day before I'm finished!"

"What about Rose Tyler?," Dalek Thay asked. "What are your orders?"

"She is inconsequential to our mission. Exterminate her."

Just then, big band music began playing from a nearby radio.

The hybrid seemed agitated. "What is that sound?," he demanded.

"Well, then, that would be me," said the Doctor, stepping out of the shadows and placing the radio on a table. "Surprise! Boo! Etcetera!"

"The enemy of the Daleks!"

"Exterminate!," was the frenzied cry.

"Wait!," said the hybrid, holding his hands out.

"Well, then a new form of Dalek! Fascinating! And very clever!," said the Doctor.

"The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter!"

"Wait, are you aliens or a cult or both?," asked Donna.

"You're so stupid," muttered Rose.

"I'm the stupid one? Who was about to be exterminated?"

"Well, they don't know you yet," said Rose.

"Yeah, but they do know you and they want you dead! Think about that!"

The Doctor turned back to the hybrid. "Right, how did you escape?"

"Emergency temporal shift."

"Oh! That must have roasted up your power cells, yeah? Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world..." he mused as he tugged at his ear. "But instead you're skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting... All of which results in you."

"I am Dalek in human form!"

"Yeah, not so sure about that," said Donna.

"What's it feel like? You can talk to me, Dalek Sec! It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? You've got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you're thinking now."

"I... feel.. humanity."

"Good..." the Doctor dragged out.

"I feel everything we wanted from mankind, which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such a genius for war!"

"No. that's not what humanity means."

"I think it does. At heart, this species is so very Dalek," the hybrid concluded.

"Alright, so what have you achieved then, with this final experiment, nothing!"

"Sorry, question," said Donna.

"We're talking," said the Doctor motioning at himself and the Daleks.

"Yeah, exactly, I've been listening to you two chatterboxes, are you going to be doing this all day?"

"Uh, maybe?," said the Doctor. He looked around. "Right, because I can show you." He motioned at the radio.

"What is the purpose of that device?," asked one of the Daleks.

"Well, exactly! It plays music! What's the point of that? Oh, but music you can dance to, sing with it, fall in love to it..." He said looking at the Dalek. "Not if you're a Dalek, of course. Then it's all just noise!"

He turned and pointed the sonic screwdriver at the radio, causing it to make an awful high pitched whine.

"Run!," shouted the Doctor.

"Protect the hybrid! Protect! Protect! Protect!," the Daleks cried.

They ran out of the room, down countless flights of stores and into the tunnels where they again ran into Tallulah.

"Run!," the Doctor repeated.

"What's happened to Lazlo?!," she shrieked.

"Come on," said Donna, grabbing her as she ran.

They arrived back at the ladder beneath the theater.

"Come on!," shouted the Doctor. "Everyone up!"

* * *

><p>Once they were back up,they headed back to Hooverville to warn its' inhabitants. Solomon listened soberly as the Doctor explained the magnitude of the situation.<p>

"These Daleks sound like the stuff of nightmares," he said. "And they want to breed?"

"They're splicing themselves into human bodies," said the Doctor. And if I'm right, they've got a breeding stock right here in Hooverville. You've got to get these people out of here."

"Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall!," said Solomon. "These people don't have any place else."

"Well, pig man, that would be lower," said Donna. She looked at Tallulah across the fire. "No offense."

"Maybe we can reason with them," said Solomon.

"There's no way. You don't reason with the Daleks," said Rose.

"Maybe you don't," said Donna. "They don't hate him yet."

Before Rose could retort they heard a whistle and an undeniable oinking growing ever louder.

"They're coming! They're here! I've seen them! Monsters!"

They heard screaming. The residents of Hooverville hurried to gather their arms. The Doctor quickly pulled Donna behind the line of defense Solomon and Frank were forming. Rose and Tallulah joined her. The others began scattering.

"Come back!," Solomon shouted. "We've got to stick together!"

"We need to get out!," Rose shouted.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Why didn't anyone else think of that?!"

"We can't!," said the Doctor. "They're surrounding us on all sides, pushing everyone together!"

"We're trapped," said Tallulah.

Solomon kept calling for everyone to come together. "They can't take all of us!"

Some of the men began firing their rifles and shooting down the pig men. They fell to the ground with anguished squeals.

"We just need to hold them off!," said Rose.

"Oh, Rose, those are just the foot soldiers," said the Doctor.

They looked up to see two of the Daleks in the sky above them.

Donna slapped the Doctor on the arm.

"What did I do?!," he exclaimed.

"Oh, you mean besides dragging me on your little sewer adventure and getting me surrounded by pig men! You never mentioned the Daleks could fly! Did you think I needed to know that?"

"If you weren't so thick, you'd have known it already," said Rose.

Donna had finally had it. If it was her lot in life to get kidnapped by pig men and transformed into a calamari, she was at least going to let Rose Tyler have what was coming to her. She raised her hand and then realized that Tallulah had grabbed it.

Tallulah shook her head. "Not worth it, honey. Trust me."

Donna grimaced as she shook it out.

"Were you going to slap me?," Rose asked incredulously.

"Enough already!," said Tallulah.

One of the Hooverville residents shot at a Dalek, doing nothing to hurt the creature. There was a brief stillness as they all wondered what would happen next.

Then all hell broke loose. The Daleks began shooting at everything and soaring through the sky, causing explosion upon explosion.

"The humans will surrender!," ordered one.

"Leave them alone!," shouted the Doctor. "They've done nothing to you!"

Solomon stepped forward. The Doctor grabbed him.

"No! Solomon, stay back!," he warned.

Solomon spoke. "I'm told that I'm addressing the Daleks! Is that right?"

"See?," said Donna, looking at the Doctor. "This is what you're like to be around!"

"From what I hear, you're outcasts, too!"

"Solomon, don't-"

"Doctor, this is my township! You will respect my authority!" He then spoke softly to the Doctor, "Just let me try."

Chastened, the Doctor was forced to step back as Solomon continued.

"Daleks, ain't we the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" He laid down his rifle. "See, I just discovered this past day, that God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was! Does that scare me! Yeah! Terrifies me! Right down to the bone! But it's got to give me hope, hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So, I beg you, now, if you have any compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us and stop this fight!

"So, what do you say!," he finished.

"Exterminate!," said the Dalek.

The Dalek fired its gun at Solomon. He screamed and fell dead to the ground as Frank ran towards him.

The Doctor seethed as he stepped forward. "Alright! So it's my turn! Then kill me! Kill me if it will stop you attacking these people!"

"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy!," said one of the Daleks in what Donna could only assume was its' excited tone.

"Then do it! Do it! Just do it!," the Doctor screamed.

"Exterminate!"

There was some sort of lull and the Dalek seemed to be talking to someone else. "I do not understand! It is the Doctor!"

There was another lull.

"What's going on?," demanded the Doctor.

Donna walked towards him and slapped him on the arm again. "Are you seriously asking why they haven't killed you yet?!"

"Donna, get back."

"What? And let you commit suicide? I'm not going to let you."

The Doctor looked at Donna with puppy dog eyes.

She stiffened. "Well, you know, you're my ride and all."

"You will follow!," ordered the Dalek.

"No!," shouted Rose, joining them.

"Yeah, sorry," said Donna looking at the Dalek. "Now is not a good time! Could we pencil something in next Wednesday?"

The Doctor turned to Donna. "I've got to go," he said urgently. "The Daleks just changed their minds. The Daleks never change their minds."

"Then I'm coming with you," said Rose.

"Yeah, nobody said they had changed their minds about you," said Donna.

Rose opened her mouth, but was cut off by the Doctor.

"Donna's right. You stay here."

"Right, just a question, what about all these people?," asked Donna. "Is everybody going to still get carted off and made into pig people?"

The Doctor turned to the Dalek. "On one condition! You spare the lives of everyone here!"

"Humans will be spared, Doctor. Follow," said the Dalek.

The Doctor turned to follow and then stepped back. He took Donna's hand in his.

"Oh, and can I just say, thank you very much," he finished with something Donna could only think was an Elvis impression. He placed something in her hand.

The Doctor walked away."

"Oh, just go on then!," shouted Donna. "Have fun with your new mates! That was a horrible Elvis impression, by the way! Don't quit your day job!"

Rose watched as the Doctor went off with the two Daleks. She turned to Tallulah. "Do you believe her? Why does he let her get away with treating him like that?!"

"Yeah, sweetie, he's hers," said Tallulah.

"What?," asked Rose. "What about everything you said earlier? There's always hope?"

"Yeah, that was before I saw them argue like they've already been married ten years and before I saw him cop a feel."

"Cop a feel?!," exclaimed Rose.

"Oh, yeah, made it to second base."

"Wait, is that baseball?," asked Rose. "Which one's second?"

Donna came back over. "Sorry, but do you want to stop bitching about me and try helping some of these people?"

Donna walked away. Tallulah followed. Rose glowered and stomped her feet.

"And what about the Doctor?," asked Rose. "Aren't we going to help him?"

"Yes, just give me a bloody minute to sort it out!, shouted Donna.

"Why are we doing what you say?," asked Rose.

Donna turned back around. Tallulah froze to watch. "Well, one, the Daleks hate you. Two, your plan not to become a pig girl almost got you killed. Third, he gave me the psychic paper so I would say I'm in charge! There! That good enough for you, Rose Tyler? Because I can go all night!"

"Fine," said Rose fuming.

"Oh, your mother must have been a bloody saint," Donna muttered as she walked towards the tents.


	20. Evolution of the Daleks, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Okay, sorry this is late, but half of my week was spent in hospital waiting rooms and the other half at my crazy work. Sorry. On the bright side, people in Australia, you're already awake and people in the UK, it'll be there when you wake up which if you're reading this is now. Also, this version is all of the last part of Evolution of the Daleks because I didn't bother going through all the scenes that were just Daleks or just the Doctor and Daleks because I figured you had probably seen those and why should I write down what you already saw? I mean, unless the Doctor was going to talk to the Daleks about his love life which I don't see happening. I think that's about all for disclaimers. Thanks, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>While Donna and Tallulah did their best to help the wounded of Hooverville, Rose sat in Solomon's tent and pouted.<p>

"Are we going to help the Doctor or not?," asked Rose.

Donna marched over to Rose. "Gee! Why didn't I think of that?! Let's just get out his instructions. Oh, wait, he left none, just some stupid alien paper and a bad Elvis impression!"

"I like his Elvis impression!"

"Who's Elvis?," asked Tallulah.

"Never mind," said Donna. "It's a miserable impression anyway. Elvis has very clearly left the- the building."

"What?," asked Rose.

Donna held the psychic paper up. "He uses this to get into places. He must want us to get in somewhere."

Donna rushed out to where Frank sat forlornly by the fire.

"Frank, this Diagoras bloke, he does a lot of construction, yeah?"

"Most everything in this town has to go through him," said Frank.

"Yeah, but anything in particular?," asked Donna. "Anything that might be a landmark in about fifty years or so?"

"Well, mostly that," said Frank as he pointed at the Empire State Building as it loomed over the squalor of Hooverville.

"Yeah, that's typical," said Donna. "Okay, Frank, Tallulah, come on. We're going there."

"What about me?," asked Rose.

"Oh, did you still want to come?," asked Donna.

* * *

><p>Rose glowered as they headed out of the park and to the Empire State Building. Donna took the lead as she flashed the psychic paper at the security guard.<p>

"Hello, Donna Noble, the Noble Corporation, LLC. I need to bring these architects..." she said motioning at Frank and Tallulah "...and this girl."

"Who's she?," asked the guard.

Rose opened her mouth to supply her own story, but Donna had one.

"She's the tea girl."

"Tea girl?," asked the guard.

"Tea girl?!," spat Rose.

"You know, tea and biscuits. Bit of a handful this one. Really needs to learn her place, but it's so hard to get good help anymore."

The guard showed them in and they began the journey up the lift to the top floor.

"I don't see why I had to be a tea girl," said Rose.

"It wasn't personal, Rose. I just thought it was all you were qualified for," said Donna.

"You're just a temp," said Rose.

"You're just a shop girl," said Donna.

"Who told you that?," asked Rose.

"The Doctor."

"When?," asked Rose.

Donna turned and glared. "You know, he's allowed to talk when you're not there."

Mercifully, for Frank and Tallulah, the lift doors opened. Donna walked in. The others followed.

"Okay," said Donna, "we're looking for something."

Tallulah walked back in. "There's a hell of a storm coming in out there!"

"What are we looking for?," asked Frank.

"I didn't say I had all the pieces just yet," said Donna. She looked back at Frank and Rose. "You two were alone with the Daleks. Did they mention anything? In Bond films, the villain always mentions something when James Bond is captured."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Something about an energy conductor. Oh, what's it called? Dalekanium."

Donna shook her head. "You couldn't remember the word 'Dalekanium.'"

"Look at this!," said Tallulah. "We're on the top of the world!"

Donna groaned. "Don't fall. I've got enough problems."

Donna walked over to the blueprints on a desk, accompanied by Frank.

"Look at this," said Frank, pointing at the corner of the sheet.

"It's a new blueprint," said Donna. "The plans just changed today. I had a temp job at the firm that did the Millennium Dome once. I know how to sort these out."

"Millennium Dome?," asked Frank.

Donna sighed. "Look, Frank, it's going to be easier if you just forget everything I said today."

"So what?," asked Rose.

"So, I'm betting that whatever we're looking for is on here."

Frank looked. "On the mast. See that?"

"What are those little lines?," asked Rose.

"I'll tell you what they are," said Donna. "Dalekanium."

The lift opened. The Doctor and Lazlo arrived.

"First floor perfumerie," said the Doctor in a singsong voice.

"Doctor!," said Rose, running and giving him a hug.

The door shut as Lazlo and Tallulah embraced.

"Oh, no, no, no!," shouted the Doctor, running back towards the lift. "It's deadlocked! See that? Never waste time on a hug!"

The Doctor walked over.

"So," said Donna, "did things not work out with your smart new friends?"

"We figured out what the Daleks have done," said Rose.

"Well, Donna figured it out," said Frank.

"Yeah, Dalekanium on the mast," said Donna. "Some sort of energy conductor. You know what for?"

"Oh, yeah, they're using the solar flare to turn a bunch of people into human Dalek hybrids." He motioned at the lift. "And they're not going to leave us alone up here."

"More calamari?," asked Donna.

"Not so much," said the Doctor. "Less calamari, more human, now it's just mostly calamari that look like humans."

Donna nodded. "Yeah. Alright. Are you gonna get the Dalekanium off the mast?"

"Yes," said the Doctor, hurrying out. He got a look at the view. "Blimey, that's high."

"And we've got to go higher," said Rose, pointing up.

"No, that's just me," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Rose.

"Yeah, have fun with that," said Donna, looking at the height of the mast.

"No, you two have to stay and fight," said the Doctor.

"Uh, what am I fighting?," asked Donna.

"Pig slaves," said the Doctor as he ascended the ladder to the mast.

"You so owe me!," Donna screamed after him. She walked back in. "Okay, so, anyone know anything about fighting pig slaves? Lazlo? Do they have some sort of instructional scheme they send you through?"

They heard the lift coming up. The five quickly hurried to get any weapon they could find as the storm raged outside.

They stood with makeshift weapons and faced the lift doors.

"I should have brought that gun!," said Frank.

"Yeah," said Donna, "a gun would have been good. Machine gun. Smoke grenade."

"Stand back, Tallulah! You too, Rose!," said Lazlo. "These pig slaves are trained to kill you with their teeth!"

Donna looked at Lazlo. "So, if the pig slaves kill me with their teeth, it's alright then?"

"You'll be fine, Donna."

Donna groaned just before Lazlo fell to the ground.

"Lazlo?!," Tallulah shrieked. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"A man down and we ain't even started," said Frank.

A bolt of lightning cracked through the night's sky. Donna turned and looked.

"Wait a minute. Lightning."

"What?," asked Frank.

"Metal. Find everything metal you can!," said Donna.

"What's that going to do?!," spat Rose.

Donna and Frank started rooting around. "Lightning. Even if the Doctor stops the Dalekanium from making more calamari people, it's still gonna hit the building! Lightning! Metal! Lift!"

"You're gonna electrocute them?," asked Rose.

"Thank you for finally joining me at the end of the thought process, Rose," said Donna. "Now pick up something metal!"

Donna, Frank and Rose worked at picking up all the piping and tools they could find and making a line from the balcony to the lift doors. The lightning struck just as the elevator dinged. The pig men writhed and squealed as the electricity ran through them. Donna watched, hand over mouth, horrified at the sight.

"You did it," said Tallulah.

Donna shook her head. "I don't know what's what anymore." She froze. "Doctor!"

Donna ran for the balcony, Rose and Frank followed. She made her way up the scaffolding, picking up the sonic screwdriver along the way and found the Doctor laying unconscious next to the mast.

"Oh, stupid Martian," Donna grumbled.

"Let me up!," said Rose.

"Not exactly room for three up here!," Donna snapped. She turned to the Doctor and slapped him across the face. "Wake up!"

"Ow!," the Doctor winced.

"You can't complain about it hurting if you're unconscious," said Donna. "Now, I don't know about you, but I still count one bit of Dalekanium on the mast."

They rushed back down.

"The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading their soldiers out underneath Manhattan," said the Doctor.

"How do we stop them?," asked Lazlo.

"There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though me first."

"And that means what?," asked Donna.

The Doctor ignored her. "We need to draw fire. Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space, somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way. Tallulah!"

"That's me. Three Ls and an H."

"The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?"

"Don't see why not."

"Is there another lift?"

Rose spoke up. "We came up in the service elevator."

"That'll do. Allons-y!"

* * *

><p>They made their way back to the theater.<p>

"What are we doing back here?," asked Rose.

"It's always been his dream to sing 'Defying Gravity' on stage," said Donna.

"What?," asked Rose.

Donna looked up at the Doctor. He had his sonic screwdriver out and seemed as if he was up to no good.

"The Daleks are at war, they're gonna want to find their number one enemy. I just let them know where I am."

Donna slapped him on the arm. "Why are you suicidal?!," she shrieked.

Lazlo collapsed in a chair. Tallulah turned to him.

"Lazlo, what's wrong?"

"It's so hot."

"It's freezing in here, baby. Doctor, what's wrong with him?"

"Sorry, Tallulah, not now. You should all go," said the Doctor.

"No!," Rose protested. "I'm not leaving you!"

The Doctor looked at Donna.

"I'll take the key to the TARDIS then," said Donna. "If you're going to stay here and kill yourself, that is."

"You're serious?," asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, pretty serious."

The Doctor started rifling through his pockets. "I had one somewhere around here."

The Doctor was forced to stop his search when a brigade of Dalek Human hybrids walked in carrying giant space age guns. There was an explosion and a cloud of smoke on the stage, revealing two of the Daleks and Dalek Sec on a chain.

"Sorry," Donna said, motioning to Dalek Sec, "do you have him on a lead?"

"The Doctor will step forward," said the Dalek.

The Doctor leapt up onto the chairs and walked across them towards the front of the theater.

"You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age."

"Planet Earth will become New Skaro."

"Oh, and what a world. With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new empire? Hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"

Donna snorted. "No, it's not."

"My Daleks…just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you," said Dalek Sec.

"Oh, my God," said Donna.

"What?," asked Frank.

"I just realized who he sounds like. Zoolander!"

"What?," asked Rose.

"The bit with the ant thing," said Donna.

Rose rolled her eyes again.

"Just watch the film again and tell me I'm wrong."

"Donna, a bit busy up here," said the Doctor.

"Sorry. It's been wracking my brain all night."

The Doctor turned back to the Daleks.

"Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor," said the first Dalek.

"But he can help you," Sec protested.

"The Doctor must die."

"No, I beg you, don't," he said, crawling before the first Dalek.

"Exterminate!," said the other Dalek.

Sec stood and the other Dalek shot him.

"Your own leader. The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him," he spat. He turned to the Human Daleks. "Do you see what they did? Huh? You see what a Dalek really is? If I'm gonna die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek-Humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptize them."

"Dalek Humans take aim."

"Go on! Fire!"

"Exterminate!"

Nothing happened. Donna moved herself over a few rows of seats to get next to the Doctor.

"What's going on?," asked Donna.

"Hybrids will obey!," said the Dalek.

"But why?," asked one of the hybrids.

"Obey!"

"But why?"

The Doctor turned to the Daleks. "Sorry. Gamma strike went through me first. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom."

"You might have said," said Donna.

"Well, I just said now," said the Doctor.

"If they will not obey," said one of the Daleks, "then they must die!"

"Get down!," shouted the Doctor, pushing Donna to the floor.

The Daleks and Dalek Humans had a fire fight as the Doctor found himself laying on top of Donna.

"You're on top of me," said Donna.

"I'm protecting you," said the Doctor.

"Is that what you call it?" She groaned. "God, you're bony."

"You're kind of nice actually," said the Doctor.

"Doctor!," snapped Rose.

They looked up to see Rose and Frank. Frank trying to hide laughter.

"Oh, the shooting stopped, did it?," asked the Doctor. He stood up and helped Donna. He walked over to one of the hybrids. "It's alright. You're alright. You killed them."

The Dalek Humans screamed suddenly and all grabbed their heads in the same terrifying motion then fell to the ground.

"No!," shouted the Doctor kneeling beside one. Donn joined him and he looked up at her hopelessly. "They killed them. Killed them rather than let them live."

* * *

><p><em>"What is this? A center for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read... if they can't even fit inside the building?"<em>

Donna laughed at the bit of Zoolander.

"Okay," said the Doctor, "I see your point. Dalek Sec did sound a bit similar."

"A bit?," asked Donna. "I think we ought to check on Ben Stiller and make sure he hasn't turned into shellfish."

The Doctor sat back on the sofa. Donna looked over at him.

"Why'd you have to keep us running all over Manhattan? To the park, the theater, the Empire State building, through the sewers and back around again. Speaking of which, first thing tomorrow, I'm expecting some new shoes. And jeans. Actually, a new outfit. God only knows what that suit of yours has been through. It had better get cleaned."

The Doctor smiled uneasily. "Understood."

There was a long pause.

"Good job with Lazlo, though. How long have you been waiting to say 'The Doctor is in'?," said Donna.

"Years."

There was another, even longer pause while Donna tried to figure out how to say what was foremost on her mind.

"Look," said Donna, "I know the Daleks meant a lot to you and what happened to your people..."

She realized the Doctor was staring at her and suddenly felt self conscious.

"You can't keep going on like this," said Donna. "You need to take some bloody care with your own life while you're saving everyone else."

"It's just part of it, Donna."

"You've got me afraid it's more than that. Sometimes you make me afraid that you really don't think there's anything worth living for."

The Doctor paused for a long time. "I don't think that, Donna."

"I just don't know how I'd do it if I were you," said Donna. "If I had lost all my family, my friends, if I was on my own..."

"You're strong, Donna. You'd find a way."

"I don't think so," said Donna, shaking her head.

"Yes, you would," said the Doctor.

Donna felt her cheeks reddening and turned away from the Doctor. She looked back at the telly and started flipping channels. "So, enough Zoolander. Oh, this again."

The Doctor looked. "Downton Abbey? The TARDIS shouldn't play this for you. It's three years in your future still."

"She won't stop with this. I mean, I like it. Can't stand that Branson."

"Why not?"

"He's so full of himself. This whole channel is like the Edwardian era channel. If there's an Edwardian period drama, the TARDIS has played it for me."

"That's odd," said the Doctor.

"Oh, here we go," said Donna, settling on a musical. "You'll like this."

The Doctor barely noticed. He was watching Donna in a way he hadn't watched someone in quite a while.

Donna barely noticed the film either. She was too busy trying to not notice him watching her as well as trying not to watch back.

"So," said Donna, "how much longer do you think before we can be sure Rose is asleep and you're safe?"

"Why? Do you need me out?," asked the Doctor.

"No," said Donna, "stay as long as you like."

"Thanks," said the Doctor with a smile.

* * *

><p><em>Next Time: The Lazarus Experiment which I know no one is probably excited about, but I'm excited about because I have some things in store. <em>


	21. The Lazarus Experiment, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, which is a shame. So, I was reading a review of another story, a rewrite of Series 4 with Rose where somebody described it as the Doctor travelling with both the bane and love of his life. Yes. Although, I'm pretty sure they don't agree with me on which is which. Sorry, I was dying to share that. Anyway, thank you for the reads and the reviews and favorites and follows. So, please let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>It was what Rose had been waiting for.<p>

Well, maybe not exactly, but it was a step. The TARDIS had landed while she was asleep. The front door was cracked open and through it she saw a flat. She caught a glimpse of a window that showed London.

Donna's flat. This was Donna's flat. It had to be. The Doctor must have been giving her the boot! He was dropping her off! Things would go back to the way they were! Well, hopefully better than that. Without Donna around, the Doctor could stop hiding from his feelings for Rose, which she was sure had been misplaced towards Donna. Yes, that must have been it. Rose sat on the jump seat and tried to plan what she was going to say. "Oh, no, Donna's gone? Well, 'spose some people just can't handle it."

Rose waited. Then waited some more. The funniest thing happened: the Doctor never came back in.

Then finally she heard laughter. The both of them mixed together.

This thing had not gone according to plan.

* * *

><p>The Doctor sat happily on Donna's sofa as he sipped the tea she had made him.<p>

"Look at you!," he said beaming at the old photos of Donna.

Donna groaned. "I'm sure you've seen more interesting things than me in primary school."

"I have not," he seen in a mock stern voice. "Oh! Baby pictures!"

"Oh, please don't," she said.

"Look at the frosting all over your face!"

Just then, the Doctor looked up and saw Rose. He held up the photo. "Rose! Look at the frosting on Donna's face!"

"That explains some things, I 'spose," Rose said, casting a glance at Donna in the kitchen.

The Doctor missed the jibe. Rose crossed her arms and fumed.

"Doctor, what are we doing here?"

He looked up, none the wiser at her irritation. "We're looking at Donna's baby pictures."

"Why?"

Saving the Doctor, the phone rang. He looked over at Donna.

"Aren't you going to get that?"

"Nine in the morning? It's either American Express or my mum asking if I have a husband yet."

The Doctor laughed. The answering machine picked up.

"Donna, it's your mother."

The Doctor grinned at Donna as she came out of the kitchen.

"I know you're there. God knows you have nowhere to go."

Donna shrugged at the Doctor as she sipped her tea.

"I don't see why you can't get a regular job like your mate, Nerys! She's on the telly! BBC News!"

"Nerys!," spat Donna.

She hurried to find the remote, searching through the couch cushions. She stopped and looked at the Doctor.

"Bum up," she said.

"What?," he asked.

"You're sitting on the remote!"

"Oh." The Doctor lifted his bum off the sofa and Donna reached under him to pull out the remote. Rose stared incredulous at what had just happened. Donna turned and flipped on the television.

Sure enough it was Nerys standing behind an old man, identified on the bottom of the screen as Professor Richard Lazarus.

"Oh, right! Nerys!," said the Doctor.

The old man spoke. "Tonight with the push of a button, that will change what it means to be human."

"This is just bloody great, Nerys on the news. Oh, she'll just have this over my head forever! And my mum! 'Why can't you be more like Nerys, Donna?' 'Doesn't Nerys look thin?' 'Why can't you stick to a diet like Nerys?' It's how mean she is keeping her that thin," said Donna. "If I was a total bitch, I'm sure I could be skinny, too!"

The Doctor looked Donna up and down. "You don't need a diet." He paused. "Wait, did he just say he was going to change what it meant to be human?"

Donna paused and thought on it. "Yeah, I think so. Why does this stuff always happen when you're around?"

The phone rang.

Rose grimaced. "American Express is calling. Want to get it?"

"Hi, Donna, it's Nerys. I know you're there, what with your being unemployed and all."

Donna flinched and walked over to the phone. "Hello, Nerys."

"Oh! Donna! I'm surprised you're even up at all!"

"Well, I'm up. I've been busy."

Nerys snorted. "Doing what?"

"Did you ring for a reason, Nerys?"

"Look, I don't know if you saw me on the news, my new job at Lazarus Labs, I'm Head of the PR Department."

"You're head of PR?"

"Yeah, anyway, big do tonight at the laboratory, black tie, I need to round out the numbers. It's too late to ask anyone else, they might have plans, what do you say?"

"You think I have nothing to do? That I can just drop what I'm doing and come down to some fancy lab at a moment's notice?" Donna looked at the Doctor. He was enthusiastically nodding at her, one step away from jumping up and down. She sighed. "Yeah, I'll be there. Plus one."

"Oh, Donna, nobody expects you to find a date!"

"I do have one, though. I've got a date."

Rose scowled. The Doctor was beaming.

"You? A date? With a man?"

"Yes, a man!," said Donna. Well, mostly, but why tell Nerys? "I'll be there."

"Eight o'clock," said Nerys. "Ta!"

"Ta!," said Donna. She hung up the phone. "God, I hate her!"

"So?," asked the Doctor.

"We're in. Big party apparently," said Donna.

"Oh, Donna, you're brilliant."

Rose frowned. "Plus one. You need plus two."

"Well, I said plus one," said Donna.

"Well, ring her back!," said Rose.

"I'm not ringing her back," said Donna. "Why don't I just dig out my own eyeball with a spoon?"

Rose turned to the Doctor. "Use the psychic paper and get me in!"

"Why don't you just do something else?," asked Donna.

"What?," asked Rose.

"Go to a pub. See a film. Just do something else," said Donna.

"I don't want to do something else, I'm not like you," said Rose.

"Thank God," said Donna. "Nerys says black tie. Do you have a tux or is it just some sort of Martian tuxedo from the seventies with a funny hat or something?"

"Well, yes, on both. I'll wear the non-Martian one if that's alright."

* * *

><p>Hours later Rose still couldn't believe it. The Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS to get dressed and she would have sworn that he was primping as he wore the tux. He was looking at his hair in a shiny patch of the console.<p>

"Doctor, what am I supposed to do?"

The Doctor looked at her and shrugged. "I don't know. How do I know what humans do when I'm not around? Go do human things."

"Human things?," she spat.

The Doctor was about to answer, but he stopped, jaw frozen open. Rose turned to realize that Donna had entered.

"Is it awful?," she asked looking at the Doctor.

The dress was knee length and black, clinging tightly to Donna's curves. Rose had to acknowledge she looked good in it and that made her even more angry. The trouble was the top half of the dress, it was sleeveless with a plunging v neckline and it along with whatever super powered bra Donna was wearing were pushing up her considerable cleavage onto full display.

The Doctor's eyes were wide as saucers. "You look wonderful," he managed to stammer out.

"Really?," asked Donna. "I thought it might have been too tight."

"No," the Doctor said quickly, "fits fine."

"Well, we should get going," said Donna.

"Yes, let's get going," said the Doctor, taking Donna's arm.

"Doctor!," Rose whined as they left.

"Bye, Rose! Have fun!," said the Doctor, not acknowledging her distress.

* * *

><p>The Doctor and Donna were still walking hand in hand when they arrived at Professor Lazarus' laboratory. There were waiters going around with trays of champagne and nibbles. The crowd looked to be a who's who of London society and government.<p>

In the center of the room was some sort of big white box, surrounded by more white pillars. Donna didn't have a clue what it was, but the Doctor hummed over it curiously.

"You know, something bad happens every time I wear this tux," the Doctor said once he was done with his inspection.

Donna snorted. "That's just you."

"Maybe," he said. He paused. "I heard you tell Nerys I was your date."

Donna shook her head. "Sorry about that, I just hate when she tries to one-up me."

"No, it's fine. What is it with you two?," he asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual. We hate each other's guts, but pretend to like each other. Typical frenemy stuff."

"Frenemy?"

"You know, we're friends, we're enemies."

"Yes, I actually know a bit about that." He nodded as he saw Nerys approaching. "Here she comes."

Donna straightened up. "Oh, God! She'll remember you from Christmas!" She shook her head. "Just pretend you're madly in love with me."

"Okay," the Doctor said quickly.

"Donna!," exclaimed Nerys.

"Nerys, you're looking well," said Donna.

"Oh, thanks, it's this new tapeworm diet. You should try it."

The Doctor shook his head. "Sorry, tapeworms?"

"Oh, is this your man?," Nerys asked saucily. "The one from Christmas?"

"Yes, hello, I'm the Doctor."

Nerys looked back at Donna. "You didn't take long to get over Lance, did you?"

"Well, if he was going to run off with another woman, I say let him," said Donna.

"Oh, good for you," said Nerys. "That's the spirit. Especially if you're going to be on your own so much."

"She's not on her own, though," said the Doctor. "She's with me now."

"Oh, well, hope you can handle our Donna," said Nerys. "She's a bit of a handful."

"I like a handful," said the Doctor.

Donna froze, not knowing if that was a compliment or a pun or... what was that? Was this how they flirted on Mars? Or fake flirting because they certainly were not flirting. They were not on a date. Well, he wouldn't be interested anyway. As she thought that, she noticed the Doctor taking a glance at her chest. She wondered if that was a real look or if it was for Nerys' benefit. It seemed real...

"That over there," said the Doctor, motioning at the giant device in the center of the room, "do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator."

"Oh, a science geek," said Nerys. "Too bad, really. What will you two talk about? I must be going. The demonstration's about to start."

Nerys walked off.

Donna turned to the Doctor. "'I like a handful?'"

They heard a glass being tapped and edged their way to the front of the crowd. Professor Lazarus stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I'm going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you'll awake to a world which will be changed forever."

The professor turned and stepped inside the device. Two female technicians started working at the bank of controls. The machine began to whir and the electricity flickered. There was a high pitched noise as the four pillars around the box began to spin inividually. A warning siren went off.

"Something's wrong," said the Doctor.

He leapt up over the controls as sparks began to fly and pieces of the console blew off. He took out the sonic screwdriver and did something and the whirring of the box slowed down until it finally stopped.

"Stop it! Someone get him away from those controls!," shouted an old woman.

"Oi, lady! Leave him alone!," shouted Donna.

"If this thing goes off, it'll take the whole building with it. Is that what you want?"

"Get him out!," shouted the Doctor.

Donna ran to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see a blond man come staggering out. The people gasped. Donna was in shock and looked at the Doctor. From his facial expression, this looked to be a very bad thing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old and I am reborn!," he said.

The audience applauded as Donna got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She turned to the Doctor.

"Did you at least get the tuxedo dry cleaned?," she asked.


	22. The Lazarus Experiment, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who because I never would have called the old lady in this episode Lady Thaw. What sort of a name is that? I guess I could have changed it but then maybe you wouldn't have known who I meant... Anyway, thanks for the reads and the reviews. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna and the Doctor watched the newly faced Professor Lazarus from a short distance as the media took photographs and the old woman, Lady Thaw, spoke some. Lazarus was eating it up, soaking in the spotlight.<p>

Donna shook her head. "I just can't believe it. I keep thinking he's going to pull a mask off and he'll be the old man again, like a Scooby Doo or something."

"If only that were so," said the Doctor.

Donna turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"He just changed what it means to be human."

"Great. You're going to be cryptic."

The photographers dispersed as Lady Thaw walked over to Lazarus. They watched as he took a tray of nibbles from a waiter and began scarfing them down. The Doctor swarmed in with Donna quickly behind.

"Energy deficit," said the Doctor. "Always happens with this sort of transformation."

"You speak as if you see this every day, Mister," said Lazarus.

"Doctor, actually. Well," said the Doctor, "not every day, but I have some experience with this kind of transformation."

"That's not possible."

"Right, because you know everything," said Donna. She took a napkin off another passing silver tray of nibbles and handed it to Lazarus. "You have something on your teeth."

"Using hyper sonic sound waves to create a state of resonance," said the Doctor as Lazarus wiped his mouth. "That's inspired."

"You understand the theory then."

"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly allowed for all the variables."

"No experiment is entirely without risk," said Lazarus.

"That device almost exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender!"

Lady Thaw was taken aback. "You're not qualified to comment!"

Donna turned to her. "Oh, so what he needs a title to have an opinion? If he hadn't stopped that supersonic sound wave whatever the hell it is, it would have exploded."

Lazarus took over. "Then I thank you, Doctor, but that's an engineerig issue, but what happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."

"Yeah, because when people mess with nature, it always goes really well for them," said Donna.

"What are you talking about?," asked Lady Thaw.

"I don't know, Jurassic Park?"

Lady Thaw stared at Donna blankly.

"Alright, lady, ever see Jaws? Oh! The Perfect Storm. George Clooney never should have gone fishing."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine," said Lazarus. "Look at me if you don't believe that!"

Lady Thaw spoke again. "The device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially."

"Commercially?," asked Donna. "So, what, like anyone can do it? I could go out with some bloke and find out he's a hundred? Oh, God, what is Nerys does it? Then I'd have to and then I could be like a hundred and still looking like this and still single and it would never stop!"

"You okay, Donna?," asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, just trying to fight off a panic attack here."

"It's a chance for humanity to evolve, to improve," said Lazarus.

"This isn't about evolving," said the Doctor, "it's about helping your customers live a little longer."

"A lot longer," said Lazarus. "Perhaps indefinitely."

"Richard, we have things to discuss," said Lady Thaw.

"Goodbye, Doctor," said Lazarus. He handed Donna the empty tray with the used napkin. "In a few years you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were."

Lazarus left.

"Do I look like a bloody waitress to you?!," Donna yelled after him. She looked back at the Doctor. "Am I dressed like a waitress?"

The Doctor's gaze once again turned to Donna's dress. "No. Definitely not." He looked as Lazarus entered the lift. "He's out of his depth. No idea the damage he might have done."

"So what do we do now?," asked Donna.

"Well, this building is full of laboratories, I say we do our own tests."

Donna motioned at the used napkin on the tray. "Luckily, we have a DNA sample."

The Doctor stared at her in amazement for a moment.

"What?," asked Donna. "I watch Law and Order. They're always swiping tissues from suspects."

"Oh, Donna Noble, you are brilliant!," said the Doctor with a huge smile.

She couldn't help but smile back and they hurried off to the lab. As the Doctor began doing all the DNA extraction, science type stuff, Donna's mobile rang.

"Hello, Mum," said Donna with a sigh.

"Patricia just rang me. Nerys said you were there with a man."

"Does Nerys have nothing better to do?"

"You never mentioned anyone."

"Well, sorry."

"She also said you were wearing that black dress again. You shouldn't show that much cleavage, Donna. It makes you look desperate."

"Mum, could we not discuss my breasts again?!," Donna snapped. Sje was mortified as the Doctor turned to look at her as she finished that sentence.

"Nerys said he was a doctor."

"Yup," said Donna. Maybe if her mother thought she was dating a doctor, she would have a week of peace.

"Well, that is something," said Sylvia. "Don't sleep with him too soon."

"Goodbye, Mum!," said Donna, hanging up the mobile.

"Everything alright at home?," asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, just fine," said Donna, putting away her mobile in her evening bag. "My mum, she's just a little, well, lot... See, I'm her only daughter and I am thirty-six, single, no real job, no children, so I am pretty much a disappointment." She did her best to smile, trying to shrug it off as she really wanted to cry.

"How could you be a disappointment?," asked the Doctor, putting a slide under a microscope.

"Were you listening? I'm thirty-six, single, no real job-"

"But you're brilliant."

Donna shook her head. "Maybe the standards are a bit different on Mars, but here on Earth, those things all add up to failure. Big, whopping failure."

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that," said the Doctor.

Donna shrugged. "I don't know what else to call it. I mean, I get it. I'm not the cleverest, I'm not the prettiest, until I met you I hadn't even done anything interesting or important, but do I have to be such a loser? I mean, shouldn't there just be one bloke out there who might actually like me? Everyone I know has gotten married, even annoying girls with back hair and-" Donna realized the Doctor had moved and was standing right in front of her, just inches away. She tried to wipe away the water that threatened to escape from her eyes. "Oh, God, how long did I ramble on? No wonder I'm not married."

Suddenly, the Doctor closed the distance between them and kissed Donna, pinning her against the lab table. It was a good kiss, even better than the one back on the Moon and Donna realized she was kissing him back. She suddenly found herself unable to breathe and had to push him off.

"Right. Sorry. Respiratory bypass," he said.

Donna shook her head. "What just happened?"

"I like you, Donna. A lot."

Donna shook her head again. It was that kind of a moment. "What? When? Oh, God, in the sewer, were you feeling me up?"

"If it means anything, I wasn't trying to, but it felt nice."

"Yeah," said Donna. "Are you sure, though? I mean-"

"I am very sure, Donna."

"Okay, yeah, sorry, just let me check something," said Donna, grabbing him by the hair to kiss him again. She released him. "Yeah, there we are. I am fairly certain I like you."

"Fairly certain?," asked the Doctor.

"Kiss me again."

The next test was just as good as the previosu ones. Donna's mind raced, wondering what the hell she was doing. He was an alien with a groupie he couldn't quite seem to get rid of. Then again, he wasn't so bad. Even with almost getting her killed by squid robots he was still better than all of Donna's previous boyfriends. Suddenly, the Doctor broke the kiss and was staring behind Donna.

"What?," asked Donna, fearing he was going to say it was all a huge mistake.

"Look at that," said the Doctor motioning at the screen behind her with his nose.

Donna turned. There was a DNA strand on the screen behind her and then it sort of flipped a bit.

"Are the colors supposed to be changing places?," asked Donna.

"No," said the Doctor drawing it out, "they are not."

She looked back at him. "What does that mean?"

"Hypersonic soundwaves destabilized the cellular structure, metagenic programming to manipulate the protein and coding structure."

"Yeah," said Donna, "I've got no idea what you're on about."

"Basically, Lazarus has hacked into his own genes and instructed them to regenerate."

Donna tried to take that in. "But the colors are still changing around. Shouldn't they have stopped by now?"

"He's missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. It's trying to change him."

"Change him into what?"

"I don't know, but I think we need to find out."

"The old lady said they were going upstairs."

"Right," said the Doctor, not moving.

Donna sighed. "I think you're going to have to start by taking your hand out from under my dress."

"I really like this dress," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, sunshine, I'm getting that," said Donna.

The Doctor sighed and stepped back. Donna stood up straight and took a deep breath, smoothing out the skirt of her dress.

"Well, let's go," said the Doctor.

* * *

><p>The Doctor and Donna walked into a room upstairs. The Doctor switched on the lights revealing a massive office.<p>

"Well, this must be his office," said Donna. "Only room that could fit his ego."

"Then where is he?," asked the Doctor.

"I don't know," said Donna. "We could try back at the reception..." Her voice trailed off as she spotted two very bony legs with black heels on sticking out from behind Lazarus' desk. She stepped forward.

"Donna?," asked the Doctor.

He spotted what she was staring at and rushed over with her.

"is that Lady Thaw?," asked Donna, looking at the slightly burnt looking skeleton.

"What's left of her. This is just a shell," said the Doctor."He's consumed her. Like squeezing the juice out of an orange."

Donna smacked the Doctor on the arm with her evening bag. "What is it with you and people getting eaten?!"

The Doctor rubbed his arm. "Blimey, what did you have in there?"

"So, Lazarus has changed?," asked Donna.

"Not necessarily," said the Doctor. "You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating, This may not have been enough energy."

Donna's jaw dropped. "So, he's going to eat someone else?!"

They rushed back downstairs.

"I can't see him," said Donna.

"Keep looking," said the Doctor.

"No, I thought I'd stop." She grabbed one of the employees she had seen talking to Nerys by the arm. "Have you seen Professor Lazarus?"

"Well, he was getting pretty fresh with Nerys," said the young woman.

"What? Nerys?!"

"Where did they go?," asked the Doctor.

"Upstairs," she said with a smirk.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "I don't know what kind of meal he thinks he's getting off her. She's all bones and botox and hair coloring."

"Let's go," said the Doctor, running off.

They hurried back to the office.

"Where are they?," groaned Donna.

The Doctor took out the sonic screwdriver. "Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signal." He waved it around a bit. "They're up there."

"The roof," said Donna.

They hurried up the stairs and onto the roof to see Nerys standing next to Lazarus

"I find that nothing's exactly as you expected," said Lazarus. "There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and reality, between the emotion and the act..."

"Falls the shadow," finished the Doctor.

"Oh, good, I'm glad we could have this poetry discussion!," said Donna. She looked at Nerys. "You're going to want to step away from him."

"I don't think so."

"There's got to be some other rich old man you can take for his money," said Donna. "Trust me."

"You're just jealous because Lance walked out on you," said Nerys.

"Yeah, I'm jealous," said Donna, quickly tiring of their game. "Step away, Nerys."

Nerys put her hand on her hip. "You know this is just like you to try and ruin this. every time! You, Donna, are just a jealous, sad old cow!"

Donna motioned at Lazarus. "He ate the old lady!"

"What does that even mean?," asked Nerys.

"Oh, my God. Why am I trying so hard to save you? He's a monster!"

"What?," asked Nerys.

The women looked back to see that Lazarus was springing from a man into a sort of giant insect with a face.

"Run!" shouted the Doctor.

They ran back into the building . The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to secure the door behind them as Lazarus banged against it and they headed towards the lift.

"Are you alright?," the Doctor asked Nerys.

"I was just about to snog him," said Nerys.

"Probably more knowing you," said Donna.

A warning alarm sounded and the lights went down.

"What's happening?," asked Donna.

"An intrusion, it triggers an alarm that locks down the whole building," said Nerys. "It seals off all the exits."

There was another bang on the door.

"He's breaking through," said the Doctor. "The stairs! Come on!"

They hurried down as Lazarus broke through the door and back to the reception.

"Nerys, is there another way out of here?," asked the Doctor.

"There's an exit in the corridor. It'll be locked down."

"Donna, take this," said the Doctor, tossing her the sonic. "Setting fifty-four! Hurry!"

This was actually the first instance Donna had to get a good look at the sonic screwdriver. She looked back at the Doctor. "There's no numbers."

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"You said setting fifty-four and there's no numbers! There's not even any buttons! How does this bloody thing work?!"

"Psychic controls!"

"What? So I just think setting fifty-four?"

"Yes!," the Doctor said impatiently.

"That was all you had to say," said Donna. "Has no one asked you how this works before?"

"Donna..." said the Doctor.

Donna rushed over to the door as the Doctor tried to get the room's attention.

"Everybody! Listen to me! You people are in serious danger and need to get out of here right now!"

"Don't be ridiculous," said a woman. "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive!"

As she said that, Lazarus sprang forth from the stairs, causing everyone to scream and scatter. he leapt on the floor, knocking over tables as everyone made a mad rush for the exits.

Donna managed to get the doors open, having decided the sonic screwdriver was just completely made up. The party guests poured out as Donna and Nerys motioned the way. Donna looked back to the room to see where the Doctor was and saw Lazarus eating another party guest.

The Doctor stepped forward.

"Lazarus! Lave them alone! What's the pint? You can't control it! The mutation's too strong! You're a fool! A vain old man who thought he could defy nature! Well, nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!"

The Doctor ran off with Lazarus chasing him.

"Doctor!," Donna shouted.

Nerys grabbed her. "Come on."

Donna followed Nerys down to the lobby, wondering what was happening to the Doctor. At the exit, there was another frenzy to get out as the front doors wouldn't open.

"We can't get out! We're trapped!," said Nerys.

"Is there an override? Where's the security desk?," asked Donna.

"There!" Nerys pointed.

Donna rushed over to the desk and behind it. She started waving around the made up sonic screwdriver at the control panel and thinking setting fifty-four, hoping it would actually work. She breathed a sigh of relief as the doors popped open and the crowd poured out. She ran over to leave and then stopped.

"Donna?," said Nerys. "Come on!"

Donna took a breath. "On the one hand, I really don't want to get eaten by a giant scorpion. On the other hand, he actually likes me."

"What?!," asked Nerys.

"And he's a good kisser..." said Donna. She groaned. "That idiot! Why does he make me do things like this?!"

Before Nerys could ask what Donna meant, she had turned around and begun running back up the stairs. here...


	23. The Lazarus Experiment, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Anyway, sorry about the delay. I had a migraine over the weekend and it sort of ruined it. Sorry if this formatting is wonky, I don't know what happened to it. Thanks for the reads and reviews and follows. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna hurried back up the stairs, wondering what the hell she was doing every step of the way. This wasn't her. Donna Noble did not lose her head over a bloke! Donna Noble was in the theater to watch Titanic and shouted, "Get on the lifeboat, you git!" Donna Noble was subsequently tossed out when she later shouted, "Share the bloody door!" Yet here Donna Noble was now, running towards a giant scorpion with a head in order to save a space alien.<p>

A not unfoxy space alien.

Donna arrived back on the same floor as the laboratories and heard an explosion. She rushed towards the sound, running smack into the Doctor.

"Donna, what are you doing here?,," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, I left my bag. What do you think?!" She sighed. "Did you get him? Is Lazarus dead?"

They heard thunderous footsteps approaching them.

"That's a no then," said Donna.

The Doctor took her hand and they began running, back into the room where the reception had been held. The monster Lazarus stomped in, reminding Donna of that giant in Jack and the beanstalk,

"Get in here!," said the Doctor leading her inside the booth of Lazarus' device.

It was a bit tight. The Doctor and Donna were oressed up pretty close to each other. It was not altogether unpleasant, but it was a step that Donna had perhaps wanted to take when she was not hiding from a giant scorpion man. That bit was really killing the romance.

"So, what's the plan?," asked Donna. "Oi, stop looking at my cleavege."

"Sorry, they're just right there," said the Doctor. "Anyway, the plan was to get in here and come up with another plan."

"Are you kidding me, spaceman?!"

"Trust me, Lazarus has too big an ego to destroy his own invention,"

They heard Lazarus' thunderous footsteps and then it was suddenly very quiet. Then the machinery began to hum.

"What's happening?," asked Donna. "He's activated the device," said the Doctor. "I was hoping he wouldn't figure that out."

"What's going on with that anyway?," asked Donna.

"How's it making him an alien?"

"No, for once it's strictly human. A throwback. Some option evolution rejected."

"What?!," screeched Donna. do not want to be a giant ginger scorpion! God knows what you'll turn into!"

The Doctor began sliding down, getting stuck by Donna's bosom. Donna groaned, this was just great. Well, again, under other circumstances it might not have been so bad, but in the current circumstances it was pretty inconvenient.

"Um, a little help?," asked the Doctor.

Donna sighed and did her best to push back up against the wall of the device and try to suck it in for all the good it did. It was enough for the Doctor to just squeeze by. He started to use the sonic screwdriver to pull up the pnaling as he kept bumping his head into Donna's legs.

"Want to hurry?," asked Donna.

"Almost there," said the Doctor, pulling a final wire from the panel.

Donna breathed a sigh of relief as the noise stopped. The whirring ceased. The macine stopped spinning. the Doctor stepped out first, followed by Donna.

"Still human," said Donna. She looked at the Doctor. "You're still Martian."

"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice."

They found Lazarus laying dead on the floor.

"He seems so sad now," said Donna.

"Eliot saw that, too. "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper."

* * *

><p>"Well," said Donna as they watched the emergency crew drive off with Lazarus, "you sure know how to show a girl a lousy time."<p>

"Oi, you invited me. Plus one, remember?," asked the Doctor.

"You asked to be invited," Donna chided.

"Oh, my God, Donna!," said Nerys, hurrying over to them as her stiletto heels clicked along. "I thought you were dead for sure! I already called my mum and she's called your mum and your mum has called me-"

Donna groaned. "Oh, thank you, Nerys!"

Just then her mobile rang, he picked it up, not needing to look at the screen to know who it was.

"Hello, Mum."

"What's this about you running into a burning building building after some man? That makes you look desperate!"

"It was not burning at the time," Donna said tersely.

Just then, they heard the squeal of tires in the distance and the telltale cadence of Lazarus' monstrous footsteps.

"Donna, are you listening?," asked Sylvia.

"Yeah, Mum," said Donna as she began running after the Doctor.

They found the ambulance, stopped in front of a church. The EMTs were inside, their bodies transformed into the same charred skeletons as Lady Thaw and the other woman.

They heard the footsteps again.

"Lazarus back from the dead," said the Doctor. "Yeah, we should have seen that one coming," said Donna. "That sounds like it's coming from the church," said the Doctor. "This doctor," asked Sylvia on the phone as she had been rattling away the whole time, "is he NHS or private?"

Donna hung up the phone.

"Southwark Cathedral," said Nerys. "He told me."

They went inside. The church was eerily quiet. They found Lazarus up at the altar, wrapped in one of the cathedral's tapestries.

He spoke first. "I came here before. A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child…the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz," said the Doctor.

"You've read about it."

"I was there."

Lazarus scoffed. " You're too young."

"So are you," said the Doctor.

Lazarus laughed but his body quickly writhed with the pain of an impending transformation. Donna tried to grab the Doctor's arm, but he kept pacing around Lazarus, looking up at the bell tower. She had the horrible feeling that he had devised a plan.

"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today."

"That's what I did today."

"What about everyone else?," asked Donna. "Lady Thaw, that cocktail party woman whatever her name was, I'm sure she has family. The blokes in the ambulance?"

"They were nothing. I changed the course of history," said Lazarus.

Donna opened her mouth to argue, but the Doctor was already speaking. "Any of them might have done, too. You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."

"No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more…successful." Lazarus groaned again.

"Call this a success?," asked Donna.

"I call it progress. I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human."

"Yes, sometimes you're a scorpion with a face," said Donna as he started screaming in pain again.

She turned. "He's gonna change again at any minute," Donna said to the Doctor as Lazarus writhed.

"I know. If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work."

Donna looked up. It was a little too high for her tastes. "Up there?"

Lazarus spoke again. "You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look."

"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tried of watching everything turn to dust." He sat down beside Lazarus. "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone."

"That's a price worth paying."

"Is it?"

"I will feed soon."

"I'm not gonna let that happen."

"You've not been able to stop me so far."

Donna sighed. "Oi! Lazarus!"

"Donna, no," said the Doctor.

"I've got your meal right here," said Donna.

"Donna!," shouted the Doctor. Lazarus snarled and chased after Donna, who was surprised to find Nerys running with her.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm not letting you be the bloody hero!"

Donna and Nerys ran up the narrow staircase through the tower. They heard Lazarus screaming.

"Was that him?," asked Nerys.

Donna nodded. "He's changed again. This is it, We've got to lead him up."

"Donna!," shouted the Doctor.

Donna looked down out of one of the archways. "I hate you!"

The Doctor seemed willing to let that go. "Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, do you hear me?!"

"Yes! Was this seriously your best plan?!"

"Donna!," shouted Nerys as Lazarus approached them and they hurried up more stairs.

They arrived at the top of the bell tower, a narrow walkway with old wood rails that gave a view to the bottom that Donna would have rather not seen.

"There's nowhere to go! We're trapped!," said Nerys.

Donna shrugged. "You wanted to come!"

"Ladies," Lazarus hissed, blocking the doorway with his scorpion form.

Donna turned to Nerys. "Look, if you want out you should do it now, I'm not sure I'm going to want to save your life later."

"After everything I've done for you!," said Nerys.

"What have you ever done for me?!," screeched Donna.

Lazarus attacked, swinging his tail at the women. They then began to hear the sounds of organ music.

Donna groaned. "Martian! Are you going to play White Room next?!"

Nerys was struck by Lazarus' tail and went over the edge, clinging on for dear life. Lazarus leapt over to look at her.

"Oi! Back off!," shouted Donna.

The organ music became louder and deeper. Donna held her head in pain as she cursed the stupid Martian and shouted to Nerys to hang on. Lazarus writhed as the sound waves resonated more and finally toppled over the edge and fell to the floor below. Donna grabbed Nerys and helped her back up.

"Donna! Donna!," shouted the Doctor.

Donna looked over the edge. "Yeah, I think we want to hear Freebird next!"

Nerys looked at Donna. "This is all your boyfriend's fault!"

"He's saved your life about three times tonight!," said Donna. "How is it his fault?!"

"I could have been Mrs. Lazarus! I could have been rich!" Nerys pouted. "I never should have invited you!"

Donna sighed. "I hate you."

* * *

><p>"So," said Donna, opening the door to her flat, "that was interesting."<p>

"I'm telling you, I have been to coctail parties where no one die," said the Doctor.

"I'll believe it when I see it, sunshine," said Donna, shutting the door behind them. She smiled. "He's definitely dead, right? You double checked this time?

She turned to find herself in the Doctor's embrace again and he was kissing her.

Donna broke it off. "You like to sneak up on a girl."

"Sorry, we got interrupted earlier," said the Doctor.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?," asked Donna. "I just have to pop into the loo."

Donna hurried back to her bedroom and into the bathroom, wondering what she had left in there in the way of personal hygiene. She flipped on the light and was startled to see Rose Tyler laying next to the toilet. The putrid smell overtaking the small space was a good indicator of what had happened.

"Donna!," said Rose, looking the most relaxed Donna had ever seen her. "You're back!"

"You're drunk," said Donna.

"I went to the pub," said Rose. She was smiling.

"Yeah, I guessed," said Donna.

Rose sat back up and vomited into the toilet. Donna scrunched up her nose as she flushed the toilet.

"Your hair's pretty," Rose said hazily.

"There's sick in yours," said Donna.

"Donna!," called the Doctor, announcing his presence just as he entered the bathroom. "Blimey, Rose, what's happened to you?!"

"Help me, Doctor," said Rose.

The Doctor took out the sonic screwdriver.

"She's drunk," said Donna. "What do you need that for?"

"Oh," said the Doctor, reading the screwdriver, "it looks as if she's drunk."

"Yeah," Donna confirmed.

"I had better get her back in the TARDIS," said the Doctor.

"Yay!," said Rose. "Let's go see the stars!"

"I think you're seeing them already," the Doctor said, helping Rose up. "Up you go! Nice and easy!"

"Raxacallica-"

"Oh, Rose, don't even attempt it," said the Doctor.

"Raxacallicafragilistic-, no, wait... that's not it."

The Doctor took Rose away. Donna sighed. The door had been pretty much closed on what had looked to be a promising evening.

She cleaned up the bathroom and then headed back in the TARDIS. She could still here Rose trying to pronounce something from down the corridor. As she started her bath, she was more confused than ever about the Doctor. He liked her. She was fairly certain that she liked him, but what about Rose? The girl just didn't get it and the Doctor didn't seem to have the wherewithal to just tell her to get a life. Donna's only hope was to get one of them to see the light and she had no idea how to do that.


	24. Human Nature, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Okay, so I'm sorry it's been a while, so bear with me for an explanation. First, I tried to rewrite 42, but it is like my least favorite episode of Series 3 and half of what makes it bearable is the Martha/Francine component. So, you know, what? I'm skipping it. Apologies to anyone who really liked 42. Two, the next is Human Nature/Family of Blood, which are some of the best episodes of Series 3 and I think some of Martha's best hours as companion, so. apologies to Martha Jones again. Three, there are a lot of rewrites of this. I just finished a sort of one called "An Ordinary Human Life." There is also another great Donna one that I'm also going to plug called "To Err is Human" by Lilac Summers, which is great. Go read that. Four, I really wanted to wrap up another story. I'm going to soldier through anyway with some disclaimers. The time line of the episode is not working for me, so forget it. Two, I make no claims to historical accuracy and my information comes from a combination of Downton Abbey and Google. Everything I know about boarding schools comes from this episode, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Another Country and the St. Trinian's movies, so yeah... Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

><p>The Doctor sat quietly on the sofa in Donna's room. The film played on the TV and for once, neither of them was actually talking through it. Donna wouldn't have cared, she was barely watching. All she could think about was what had happened after Lazarus.<p>

And what had happened today.

Being on a ship hijacked by a living sun was not something that Donna had expected. Being trapped in a life pod with Rose was something she could do without ever happening again. The Doctor going all creepy horror movie on her was another thing she could do without.

"You're like the sun, aren't you?," asked Donna.

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"You said that son deserved love and protection like any other living creature," said Donna. "Doesn't that include you?"

He turned to her slowly, carefully and then Donna suddenly found his lips upon hers.

Then she heard a thud on the floor.

Donna bolted awake.

"Oh, God," she groaned.

She wasn't on the TARDIS. Not by a long shot. Her bed was empty. The room was cold, dark and absent of the TARDIS' hum. "Do- John?"

"I'm fine, my dear."

The fire had gone out. Donna rushed over the mattress to look at the other side of the bed where the Doctor- or rather John Smith- sat on the floor, rubbing his head.

"What are you doing?," asked Donna.

"Don't alarm yourself. I was just trying to return to my bed."

"You can't see anything. You could have broken your neck."

"I realize that now." He groaned as he stood straight. He leaned down to kiss Donna. "I shall see you in the morning."

Donna groaned. "This whole thing is daft."

"I'm not letting the maid find me another time in your bed."

"She's an adult."

"And what about the boys?"

"Who's telling them?" She patted the bed next to her. "Come on."

The Doctor smiled and sat down next to her. "Just until the sun rises."

Donna laid back down and pulled the covers over them.

"I had that extraordinary dream again," said the Doctor.

"Oh?," asked Donna, trying to sound nonplussed.

"Yes, we were being chased by something. Your sister was there again. And it all took place in the year of our Lord, two thousand and seven."

"Right," said Donna.

"I know my ramblings must seem mad to you."

"No," said Donna.

He looked up at her. There was no fooling him on that score.

"Okay, not all the time," admitted Donna.

"Donna, dear, do not take my dreams as an indication that I am at all unhappy. I cannot think of anything that would make me happier. There is, of course, one thing."

Donna blushed. "Right, well..."

"I have offended your sensibilities, haven't I?"

"No, no," Donna lied.

"I know it will happen in its own time. I don't mean to put any fault with you."

"Right."

"You will be a wonderful mother," he said curling up against her.

* * *

><p>Donna was awoken by Jenny the housemaid as she knocked on the door and came in to start the fire. She eagerly checked the calendar like a child waiting for Christmas morning, only she was waiting for when three months had finally passed and it would be safe to open the fob watch.<p>

It had only been six weeks. Six weeks since this nightmare began.

They had been at an alien bazaar of some sort. Donna and the Doctor had barely looked at each other all morning. They couldn't speak, not with Rose constantly between them trying to show off. Finally, something else had caught the blonde's attention and the Doctor and Donna were left alone with each other.

"Okay, look, about last night," said Donna.

"What about last night?," the Doctor asked with wide eyes.

"We're both adults here," said Donna. "Well, I'm an adult. You might still be a teenager for all I know on your planet. That would explain some things."

"I'm an adult, Donna."

"What I mean is this doesn't have to be weird."

"No, I think it does."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Well, we could act like adults. That would be a start."

"Donna," said the Doctor, "I don't know what you think, but last night wasn't the sort of thing that I do all the time and never, ever with a companion."

"What? Never?," Donna asked incredulously.

"No. This isn't a lark for me."

"Doctor!," screamed Rose.

The Doctor groaned. "Not now, Rose!"

"Doctor!"

She was running towards them. The Doctor's head turned and a look of fear came over his face. He turned to Donna.

"Run!"

Donna didn't wait to be told again. She began running, the Doctor and Rose were behind her. The real fun began when they had to dodge some sort of space age ray gun fire. They finally arrived back at the TARDIS and Donna used her newly given key to open it as the Doctor shoved her in and Rose fell in behind them.

The Doctor hurried over to the console and started the TARDIS controls.

"They saw your face," he grimaced at Rose.

"What?," asked Rose.

"They saw your face!"

"What?," asked Donna. "What the hell's going on? I didn't even see anything!"

The Doctor groaned as he looked at the TARDIS monitor. "They're following us!"

"What?," asked Donna. "How can they do that?"

"They've stolen a Time Agent's vortex manipulator."

Donna shook her head. "Did you mean to put those last four words together?"

"God! You're so thick, why are you even here?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who let the whatever the hell we're talking about see my face," said Donna.

The Doctor was not listening to them. He was running his hand through his hair, seemingly caught in his own train of thought. "I'm going to have to do it."

"Do what?," asked Donna suddenly deeply concerned at what the hell that might be.

He turned to her. "Donna, do you trust me? Because it all depends on you."

"What does?," asked Rose.

"Yes, I trust you," said Donna. "What are we talking about?"

A device fell from the ceiling. The Doctor shoved a fob watch in front of Donna's face.

"This watch is me," said the Doctor.

"What are you talking about?," asked Donna. "Could you start from the beginning?"

"This is a Chameleon Arch. It rewrites every cell of my biology."

"And why are you doing that?," asked Donna.

"Those people, the Family of Blood, they can smell me, track me anywhere through time and space. The only thing I can do is stop being a Time Lord and hide myself as a human."

"Oh, my God," gasped Rose.

Donna paused and nodded. "Okay, what's option B?"

"There is no Option B."

"What do you mean there is no Option B? Call yourself a genius, do you? That is the worst plan I have ever heard!"

"I'll hide for three months and in that time, the family will die. They have a short lifespan. The TARDIS will land us and invent a backstory for me to allow me to integrate myself."

"And I am doing what?"

"The TARDIS won't be able to do the same for you. You'll have to improvise, but I should have just enough residual memory to let you in."

"I hate this plan," said Donna.

"What about me?," asked Rose.

The Doctor turned to Rose. "You're not going anywhere. Wherever we land, you'll have to stay in the TARDIS."

"For three months?!," Rose exclaimed.

"Those creatures have seen your face. The TARDIS should be able to hide you."

"I have to stay in the TARDIS for three months?!," Rose repeated.

Donna turned to her. "That is not the worst part of this plan!"

Her objections ignored, Donna soon discovered what the worst part of this plan was.

His screams.

* * *

><p>Donna found life in 1913 difficult. First of all, it was nothing like Downton Abbey. She had instead been put in Goodbye Mr. Chips wherein she was Mrs. Chips. The Doctor had somehow walked them right here and into a job as House Master, meaning Donna got the pleasure of living on the top floor of a house full of teenage boys, which she had always thought were the most disgusting. The boys in Goodbye Mister Chips were much nicer. Some of them weren't so bad. Latimer was nice and she had helped Jenkins when he was homesick.<p>

Donna walked down to the dining room where the Doctor was looking over some papers.

"Forgive me, dear," said the Doctor. "I just have some papers to look over."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Donna.

Jenny set Donna's plate down.

"Thank you, Jenny."

"Any news from your mother?," asked the Doctor.

Ah. This game. The Doctor seemed to remember Sylvia alright. Shortly before they had come here, the Doctor had put universal roaming on her mobile, which enabled Donna to receive a number of voice mails with Sylvia's usual regards. That was the one thing about being in 1913, she couldn't get Sylvia's voice mails. The Doctor seemed to have some memory of Sylvia.

"No," said Donna. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, that's something to be grateful for," said the Doctor with a smile.

Donna smiled back as she started on her breakfast.

"Perhaps," the Doctor began, "she's decided to devote her time to making something of your sister. Certainly anything would be an improvement."

"Right," said Donna.

The Doctor sighed. "I do not mean to be so harsh on your family. I just feel it's best we left London when we did, even if you did not."

"No, I understand," said Donna.

They finished their breakfast and the Doctor was soon off.

Which meant Donna had to do what she dreaded the most.

Take a walk to visit Rose.

* * *

><p>The TARDIS was parked in a barn on the far side of the village. Donna made her usual greetings as she walked through. The villagers were used to seeing Mrs. Smith walk through. She went to the barn, checking behind her and went inside and unlocked the TARDIS.<p>

Rose was in the console room when Donna entered. Donna knew she must have just run in there, she was out of breath.

"Oh, it's just you."

Donna threw up her hands. "Yeah, just me."

"You didn't come again."

"It was the weekend. I couldn't very well tell him where I was going."

"Why would he care where you go?"

Right. Donna had taken the initiative to decide that Rose didn't need to know that the Doctor thought she was his wife. Or that he remembered Rose as Donna's annoying younger sister who had flung herself at him. Or anything. It was just better if Donna didn't tell Rose anything.

"Never mind that, I just popped by to say hi."

"I know," Rose groaned as she turned and headed into the bowels of the TARDIS.

Donna followed her. "You've whined so much about being alone. I thought I would check in."

"Sure," said Rose wandering into the TARDIS sitting room. It looked a shambles, packaging on the floor, cushions askew.

"Great, you've become a slob as well," said Donna.

"What am I supposed to do?," she asked plaintively.

"Tidying up would be a start."

"I can't stand six more weeks like this."

"Oi, I'm not having fun, either," said Donna.

"Oh, yeah? What are you doing?," asked Rose.

Donna sighed and tried to think of a lie. Anything but the truth. "Uh, housemaid."

Rose burst out laughing. "You're the maid! The Doctor made you the maid!"

"Yeah, so I can do without your moaning, thank you," said Donna. "Sitting in a time machine, watching telly and eating junk food for three months is not exactly the worst thing that can happen to you. In fact, it's a long way off."

"You're not my mum."

"Yes," said Donna, "we've been over that and I'm grateful."

Donna walked back to her room. Oh, how she missed her room. The huge sprawling bed and memory foam mattress. The telly and sofa she could sink into. The jacuzzi in the en suite. In fact, she missed most of the things in the en suite. She gathered up a few essentials and headed back to the school.

* * *

><p>Donna walked inside. Jenny was hard at work, scrubbing the floors. Again. Granted, the house was full of dirty, grimy boys, but Donna didn't seriously think anyone would notice the difference if she skipped every other day or more if she wanted. Donna was going mad with how little was expected of her in the house. She had spilled her tea once in the sitting room and her attempts to clean it up were met with equal parts shock and terror by Jenny. Attempts to return her own dishes to the kitchen were met with similar reactions by the cook and the scullery maids. As were any attempts at conversation with the staff. Donna had tried, but she found they stood there stiffly looking like they wished this madwoman would stop asking them questions. She had even overheard them as she went to the kitchen. "Mrs. Smith is a nice lady, but I think she must be out of her mind."<p>

Two of the older boys walked by Jenny. One kicked the bucket of water causing it to fall over and spill out.

"You should move that out of the way," said Baines.

"Baines!," said Donna.

He looked up in shock.

"I saw you kick that bucket. Apologize."

Baines stood in shock as Donna neared him. The other boy seemed pretty lost as well. She tried to channel what she had learned from Downton Abbey.

"This behavior is unworthy of a gentleman," said Donna. "Apologize to Jenny. Now, before this goes any further."

"Sorry," said Baines as if he was eating cement.

"That's alright, sir. No worries, sir," said Jenny, hurrying to mop up the water as best she could so this whole episode would end.

Baines looked at Donna with a sneer.

"Well," said Donna, channeling her best Sylvia, "don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yes, ma'am," said the other boy. "Come on, Baines."

Donna turned to Jenny. "Are you alright, Jenny?"

"Yes, ma'am," she said quickly hurrying with the cleaning.

"Do you want some help?," she asked.

"No, ma'am. I can manage, ma'am."

Jenny finished and scurried away. Donna retreated to the upstairs. They had the private study, their bedrooms and a spare. Donna spent most of her day up here and really wished there was someone here to talk to. The Doctor or John Smith or whoever the hell was alright. He was pleasant, he was cute, but he was bogged down with all this Edwardian nonsense and the sooner he let it go the better. Still, she could speak more openly than she could with the other women she found at the school, like the other teachers' wives and Nurse Redfern.

Donna read upstairs in the library. Late in the afternoon, the Doctor finally arrived carrying a heavy stack of books.

"Here, let me help you," said Donna.

"No, I have it," he said as the stack wavered.

Not waiting for consent, Donna took the top half of the stack from under the Doctor's chin. He grinned goofily as she set it down and gave her the customary chaste kiss.

"How was your day, dear?," he asked.

"Fine. I went for a walk in the village."

"Another one?," asked the Doctor sitting.

"What? Are you worried about me running off?," she teased.

"You have no idea," he said. "Would you ring for tea?"

Donna sighed and went to ring the bell.

"Do you know sometimes you act as if you never had servants?," asked the Doctor.

"I just don't like making someone do something I could do myself," said Donna. She sat back down. "How was your day?"

"Wonderful," said the Doctor. "We started on Napoleon today."

There was a knock at the door.

"That was quick," said the Doctor.

"Come in," said Donna.

It was not one of the servants, but Latimer, who entered. He was another one who Donna's easy manner had made uneasy, but he wasn't a complete arse, again distinguishing himself from his peers.

"Hello, Timothy," said Donna.

"Hello, Mrs. Smith."

"Is everything alright?," she asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Mister Smith wanted me to come and collect a book."

The Doctor stared blankly. "Good lad, yes... yes! 'The Definitive Account of Mafeking' by Aitchison-Price, where did I put it?," said the Doctor, getting out of his chair. He went around, fumbling for it throughout the library. "And I wanted to have a little word, your marks aren't quite good enough."

"Darling..." said Donna.

"I'm not seeking to humiliate him, dear," said the Doctor.

"I'm top ten in my class, sir," said Latimer.

"Now, be honest, Timothy. You should be the very top. You're a clever boy, but you seem to be hiding it. Where did I put that book?," he asked starting to examine the shelves. "And I know why. Keeping your head low avoids the mockery of your classmates. But no man should hide himself, don't you think?"

"No, sir," said Latimer. Donna realized he had picked up the fob watch off the end table and was staring at it intently. She screamed internally.

"You're clever, be proud of it. Use it," said the Doctor.

"That's Mister Smith's fob watch," Donna said softly, rising towards Latimer. She held out her hand. "Isn't it lovely?"

The boy snapped out of his trance as Donna loomed over him. He placed it in her hand with another curious look.

"Here we are," said the Doctor handing him the book. "Fascinating details about the siege, really quite remarkable, are you alright?"

"Fine, sir," said Latimer.

"Right then, and remember, use that brain of yours!" He handed him the book and Donna watched as Latimer froze again, seemingly distracted by something. "You're really not looking yourself, old chap, is anything bothering you?"

"No, sir, thank you, sir."

He hurried off. The Doctor looked at Donna holding the fob watch. "What have you got that for?"

"Timothy was looking at it. I didn't want him to get distracted and walk off with it. Unintentionally, of course," she said.

"That old thing?," said the Doctor, looking at it. "I'm surprised you bothered."

The Doctor took a book off his pile and sat down. Donna sat down and resumed reading hers, grateful that she had averted near disaster.


	25. Human Nature, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews, I really appreciate them. have I said hi to the lurkers lately? Hello. Remember how I said to disregard a lot of Human Nature's time line? Yeah, keep doing that. Anyway, thanks and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna the housemaid. Rose had to see that. All this time travelling with her and she was finally in her place, wasn't she?<p>

So, Rose went through the wardrobe and found an outfit appropriate for 1913. She put on a hat with a veil just in case those creatures or whatever seeing her face was actually a thing, though how they could find them here in the middle of nowhere was a mystery to her.

She went out and found her way to the school. She quickly found that there was no Donna Noble employed as a housemaid. She tried describing her and the maid she talked to thought Rose might have been talking about that Mrs. Smith who lived at another one of the houses.

Rose was livid. She started back for the TARDIS where she happened upon "Mrs. Smith."

And the Doctor.

Having a picnic lunch.

He was reading poetry to her.

Rose hurried back to the TARDIS and decided that all she could either sit in the TARDIS and do nothing or she could go for a visit.

* * *

><p><em>A While Before on the TARDIS...<em>

The Doctor was on top of Donna now, they were laying on the sofa. Donna had no idea how long they had been there since the Doctor first kissed her that evening.

She was still only half believing this was happening. She was starting to think the night of Lazarus' party might have been a fluke. It felt amazing, though and she was finally getting her hands on that cute bum she had noticed quite a while back.

The Doctor suddenly broke off the kiss. "I'm sorry."

"For what?," asked Donna.

"I've thrown myself at you. I don't want you because of some sense of obligatiion or pity."

"Doctor," said Donna.

"Yes?"

"Are my hands on your bum?"

"Uh, yes, actually."

"And did you just unhook my bra?"

"Yes..." he said sheepishly.

"Then let's not over think this and let's definitely not stop."

"Right," said the Doctor, putting his mouth over hers.

* * *

><p>Donna had made it through another week and yet another church service. After the complete and utter boredom that accompanied her first church service, she had tried feigning illness for the second one. That was the one thing about 1913. It was blatantly anti-feminist and patronizing, but Donna found that if she made the slightest complaint of any ailment, the world stopped turning and the Doctor sought to accommodate her in any way possible. The downfall was that her absence at the second church service was met with catty remarks feigning concern from the other wives at the school. God, Donna could not wait for the three months to be up and then she could give them all a piece of her mind. Especially that bloody headmaster. He was the worst offender.<p>

She had managed to make it through without falling asleep. It was hard, but she found herself preoccupied with the conversation that she and the Doctor would have to have when she opened that fob watch. It was going to be a doozy.

"Darling?"

Donna snapped back into consciousness. The church was emptying out. She was the only one still sitting in the pew.

"Oh, right. Sorry," said Donna, getting up.

They walked outside where the vicar was talking to the parishioners. Donna stood there, gritting through her teeth as the clergyman increasingly reminded her of Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice. They started the walk back to the school. They began their idle chat about the sermon, about the weather, about the dance in the village the next day.

"Mrs. Smith!" Jenny was rushing towards them as they neared the house.

"Jenny, what's the matter?," asked Donna.

"You have company," said Jenny. She leaned in. "Mrs. Bates is very upset about it."

"What company?," the Doctor asked, looking at Donna.

"I don't know," said Donna.

They hurried back in the house and back upstairs to where the "guest" was waiting.

The blonde guest.

"Rose?," asked the Doctor looking completely flummoxed. He turned to Donna. "Why didn't you say Rose was visiting?"

"I didn't know," said Donna. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I thought I'd look in on you," said Rose.

"You came from London unannounced?," asked the Doctor. He looked at Donna. The irritation was growing more evident. "I cannot believe your mother permitted this."

"Right," said Donna. "Rose, maybe you ought to just get back on the train. To London."

"I just got here," said Rose.

The Doctor grimaced and turned to speak to Donna in a low voice. "Imagine how it might look if we immediately turned away your sister and what sort of talk that might unleash."

Donna was agog. "No, she really, really needs to go back to London. Like right now."

"I'm staying," said Rose.

"You will stay until the end of the week," said the Doctor.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

"Master Smith?" The door opened. It was Jenkins. "Might I speak to you in private, sir?"

"Of course, Jenkins." He turned to the ladies. "Please excuse me."

The Doctor and Jenkins left. Donna turned to Rose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?," Donna hissed, not wanting the Doctor to overhear.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? You said you were the house maid? I came to check on you-"

"You mean to make fun of me."

Rose ignored her. "And they tell me, no, there's no Donna Noble, but there is a Donna Smith, wife of the history master. Do you think you ought to be playing house with him?"

"Look, I didn't ask to be his wife, he decided," said Donna.

"Yes, but what exactly have you been doing while he thinks you're his wife?," Rose asked, her meaning quite clear.

"That is none of your bloody business," said Donna.

"Oh, my God, you haven't," said Rose. "That's not right! He doesn't know who he is, he doesn't know you're just some sad old cow living out some stupid domestic fantasy."

"Guess what? The Doctor didn't think I was some sad, old cow."

"What's that supposed to mean?," asked Rose.

"Oh, get a clue!," said Donna. "You need to get back to the TARDIS now."

"The Doctor just said I could stay."

"Well, John doesn't know he's being hunted by weird aliens that can smell him!"

"Oh, please, they're not coming. If they were gonna find us, they would have done it by now."

"Rose, I know it's been hard staying locked up. I get that, I really do, but you have got to go back to the TARDIS."

"Make me," said Rose.

The Doctor came back in. He looked anxiously between the women. "Have I missed something?"

"Darling," said Donna, plastering a smile on her face, "Rose really ought to return to London."

A bell rang.

"Oh, luncheon," said the Doctor. "Ladies?"

Donna grimaced as they walked to the dining room.

Damned if John Smith wasn't as much of a pushover as the Doctor.

* * *

><p>That evening the Doctor or John Smith as he thought he was, left his room and ventured across the hallway to his wife's room.<p>

"Doctor?"

He looked down the hallway in confusion. Rose was in the hallway.

"Are you feeling ill, Rose?"

"No, sorry, I meant John." She looked anxiously at Donna's door. "Uh, what are you doing?"

The Doctor looked at Donna's door. He might have blushed, but it was difficult to tell in the near pitch black of the hallway.

"Rose, I do not understand what you are doing here. The... overtures you made to me on previous occasions were unwelcome. I do not think it benefits either of us to revisit them."

Rose shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"I have tired of your feigned innocence, Rose. I am married to your sister. The only reason I have allowed you to stay is because I am still new here and cannot afford any of the gossip that would accompany your departure."

Rose had a thought and that thought blew her mind.

"Oh, my God!," said Rose. She blew in past the befuddled Doctor and slammed the door to Donna's bedroom in his face.

Donna looked up from her book, startled.

"You've been shagging the Doctor!"

Donna shook her head. "What?"

"That's why you lied about being the housemaid. You knew I'd try to stop you."

"Keep your voice down!," Donna hissed, getting off the bed. "Honestly, what have you thought was going on between us?"

"He doesn't even know who he really is!"

"Again, quiet!," Donna hissed. "I meant before we got here. Don't tell me you're completely blind."

Rose shook her head. "No. He's mine!"

Donna slapped Rose across the face. Rose looked up at her in shock.

"You bitch," said Rose.

"I told you to lower your voice." She paused. "The Doctor is not 'yours.' He's not a possession, he's not your alien who just travels around in time and space for your amusement and furthermore, don't you think if he really wanted to be yours, he would be?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"He feels too guilty over what happened to your mum to tell you himself and he's a bloody pushover. I told him to dump you before you went psycho, but here we are." Donna threw her hands up. "Consider yourself told."

"You're lying. The Doctor would never do that."

"Yes, that's my point as well."

"When he's back, when the proper Doctor's back," said Rose, "you are gone."

"Then I'll be gone, won't I?," asked Donna.

Rose stormed out. Donna marched back to her bed. She pulled the covers over herself and steamed a few moments before hearing the Doctor's timid knock.

"Donna?," he asked softly. "May I come in?"

Donna rolled her eyes at another gesture of Edwardian courtliness. "Yes."

The Doctor entered. She saw he was carrying his journal.

"Was Rose very upset?," he asked, his voice practically squeaking.

Donna took a chance. "You know Rose."

The Doctor came and sat in the bed. "I do not understand why she insists on behaving as she does."

"Because she's a jealous brat," Donna said, not even thinking. "She thinks you bloody belong to her."

"I do not understand what could have given her that idea," said the Doctor.

"Never mind her." She looked at the bound leather object in the Doctor's hands. "Your journal?"

"Yes, I meant to show you some more this afternoon, but your sister arrived." He opened the pages. "I had another extraordinary dream. We were on the Planet of the Hats."

"Oh?," asked Donna.

"Yes, and there were these headless people- I know it must sound mad."

"No, it doesn't sound mad."

"You must wonder what you have done to deserve such a lunatic husband," he said actually sounding melancholy.

"Darling?," asked Donna.

"I think you are not happy sometimes."

Donna shook her head. "Of course I'm happy. I mean, I don't care for some of the people here. Like the headmaster and the other wives and frankly, Baines could do with a good slap upside the head-"

"No, I think you would be happier with children."

Donna thought this bit was going to be so awkward when the Doctor came back to himself. "Let's not worry about that."

"Do you not want children?"

"Of course I'd love children," said Donna, wondering what the hell had made her blurt that out. "I don't want you to worry about that, though. Tell you what, give it six weeks and we'll talk about it then."

Just then, Donna spotted a bright light across the sky. The Doctor turned to look.

"What was that?," asked Donna.

"A falling star, commonly known as a meteorite, nothing but cinders now." He turned back. "Nothing to worry about."

* * *

><p>Rose awoke with a start as she heard machine gun fire.<p>

"Donna!"

She rushed into the sitting room to find Donna sitting placidly.

"What are you doing?!," asked Rose. "Don't you hear that?"

"Exercises," Donna said tartly. "They teach the boys how to fire machine guns and shoot things."

"What? Is the Doctor doing that?"

"If you think I haven't already tried, you'd be wrong," said Donna. "Welcome to 1913."

"So, you're just gonna let him?"

Donna put down her book and looked at Rose. "You need to go back to the TARDIS."

"What?"

"You clearly can't handle this," said Donna.

"I can handle this just fine," said Rose.

"It's been a day and you've thrown two hissy fits," said Donna. "Not to mention that you really, really ought to be back in there anyway since it's the one bloody thing the Doctor asked you to do."

"Well, I don't want to," said Rose.

"Then start playing by the rules!," said Donna. "I know this thing is stupid. I know this is wrong. I'm the one who's been suffocating in this bloody corset for six weeks! So smarten up."

Rose crossed her arms. "Fine."

"There's a dance in the village tonight," said Donna. "If you can behave, you can come."

"I can behave," Rose said sharply.

"Well, I'll believe it when I see it," said Donna. "Also, you can't walk into a room in front of me."

"What?!," asked Rose.

"It's a precedence thing," said Donna. "I'm the older sister and I go first. The Doctor already noticed, which means other people will."

"Fine," said Rose. "I'll be on my best behavior."


	26. Human Nature, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who and I do not know why this took so long! Gah! Sorry. Anyway, thanks for the reads and reviews and the follows. Also, I keep forgetting to mention how pleased I was this story had hit 200 reviews, but now we're at 224, so keep it up, people! Um, I feel like whatever I do, some people are going to think I went too far with Rose and some people will always think I haven't gone far enough, so be assured, I do have a plan if that's any consolation for whatever you're feeling. Thanks in advance and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Rose stood by the cider and watched the Doctor dancing with Donna. He seemed so happy, but of course, this was not the Doctor. This was the idiot John Smith. He had fallen for Donna. All that before nonsense. Donna could not have been serious about that. Surely the old cow was lying. He had fallen for Donna? He had never even shown-<p>

Well, of course he was in love with Rose. What else was all that forever talk about?

So, Rose passed the time, dancing with the other men at the party and trying to look respectable.

How could anything have happened with Donna when he had never said anything after she kissed him?

She watched as Donna excused herself, shooting Rose another severe look as she went into the hall. The Doctor approached her.

"Lovely party," he said.

"Yes," said Rose.

There was silence as the Doctor looked at his shoes.

"Want to dance?," asked Rose.

"Uh, well..." he stammered. "Of course."

Rose smiled with satisfaction as the Doctor took her out on the dance floor.

"You've still got the moves," she said as they began a waltz.

"Oh, thank you..." he said sounding uncertain.

"We've danced before. That's all," said Rose.

The Doctor nodded. "Of course we have."

"I thought maybe you wouldn't want to dance with me anymore," said Rose, remembering Donna's wedding. He had just blown off her invitation that day.

"Well," said the Doctor, "I don't see why we can't be friends. You are, after all, Donna's sister."

Rose sighed. Fine. Donna could mess with his head? So could she, but it would be different. She would be telling the truth.

"Don't you remember when we first met?," asked Rose. "You wanted to take me to see the u- the world?"

The Doctor stiffened. "Now, Rose, stop. We shall have no more of this."

"Donna's tricked you. Can't you tell?"

"Rose. Quiet."

Rose hardly noticed the school nurse leaving as she tried to plead with the Doctor.

* * *

><p>Donna was in mild shock at how well Rose was doing at the dance this evening. She was oddly quiet for her. She hadn't flung herself at the Doctor and even danced with one of the young men from the village who was clearly entranced with her. Well, he didn't know her. All in all, it was rather a success.<p>

Until she was leaving the ladies' room and ran into Nurse Redfern.

"Oh, hello, Matron," said Donna. "Are you enjoying the dance?"

"Yes, very much. At least I thought I was." She paused. "Have you looked in on your sister lately?"

"Why?," asked Donna, her good mood souring quickly. "What's she done now?"

"I think you had better look."

Donna walked back into the hall. Rose had somehow cajoled the Doctor into a dance, poor blighter. She was now saying something in hushed tones to him, something that clearly shocked him. She marched over.

"Oh, Donna," said the Doctor, "we were just-"

Donna looked over at Rose. "You were just what?"

"Nothing," said Rose.

"I think we had best go home now," said the Doctor.

"No," said Donna. She looked at Rose. "What did you say?"

"Well, I explained that he doesn't really love you," said Rose.

"You selfish brat," said Donna.

"Ladies, I really think we ought to leave-"

Before Donna could hear John finish his sentence she had pulled Rose out into the hallway by the arm.

"That's going to leave a mark!"

"I ought to drag you by your hair back to the TARDIS," said Donna. "What are you trying to do?"

"What do you care? It's not a real marriage. It's just something the TARDIS put together."

"It's not," said Donna.

"Come on, you know once the Doctor is back he's going to-"

Donna put her hand over Rose's mouth.

"Family of Mine," she heard a not so distant voice say, "I have located the Doctor."

Donna and Rose looked at each other frantically. Donna resisted the urge to give Rose another slap. Instead, she rushed back in the hall with Rose right behind her.

"Do- John, we have to leave," said Donna.

"Yes, of course," said the Doctor, trying to hide his relief. "Oh, let me just speak to Mister Wells-"

"No, no speaking to Mister Wells," said Donna, grabbing his hand. "Just leaving. Right now."

"Donna, what on Earth is the matter?" As he spoke, Donna noticed some of the wives from the school talking in hushed tones as they looked at the couple. If there wasn't about to be a group of attacking aliens, Donna would have been sure there would be a scandal.

"You know what? I'd really like to talk about it back at the school," said Donna, pulling his hand.

"What?"

"Okay," said Donna, deciding to lay all the cards on the table. "Basically, everything in your journal is real and that one bit where we were being chased? That's extremely real and we need to go right now."

"What?," asked the Doctor.

Just then, an older man entered. Donna knew him as Mister Clarke from the village. He fired a space aged gun into the ceiling as the crowd screamed.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Okay, forget everything I said and just run."

Then the scarecrows filed in, blocking all routes of egress. It was then that Donna noticed Jenny was with them, which explained where her evening tea had gone.

"What do we do now?," asked Rose.

"Oh, now you care what I think?," asked Donna.

"There will be silence!," said Clarke, firing the gun again.

Donna noticed Baines with Clarke. Figured. Bastard as a human, bastard as a possessed human. "Now, Mister Smith we have some questions for you."

The Doctor looked shocked.

"No, better than that," a little girl piped in.

Donna and Rose looked to see what she had to say.

The little girl smiled coldly at them. "I heard them talking. He's the Doctor."

Donna looked at Rose. "I hate you."

"This isn't my fault!," said Rose.

Donna rolled her eyes. "You show up, they show up! Have you heard about cause and effect?!"

Baines turned to the Doctor. "You took human form."

"Of course I'm human, I was born human! As were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clarke! What is going on, this is madness!"

"And a human brain, too," said Baines. "Simple, thick and dull!"

"He's no good to us like this," said Jenny.

"We need a Time Lord," said Clarke.

"Easily done," said Baines.

He edged towards the Doctor and pointed his gun at him as the villagers gasped.

"Change back."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said the Doctor.

"Change back!"

"I literally do not know what you're-"

Donna felt herself being yanked back and realized Jenny had grabbed her and was pointing yet another gun at her. The Doctor might have been right, this gun thing was getting tiresome.

"She's your wife isn't she?," asked Jenny. "Doesn't that scare you enough to change back?"

"She's not his wife!," shouted Rose.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Thank you for your contribution!"

"Then maybe we should take you hostage," said Clarke.

"Don't bother. He can't stand her," said Jenny.

"What?!," exclaimed Rose.

Donna rolled her eyes as she looked at the Doctor. He wasn't the man she had known, that was for certain. He was so helpless, so human, watching in terror as Jenny held her by the throat.

Baines' tone turned even more sinister. "Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human? Has it taught you wonderful things, are you better, richer, wiser? Will you sacrifice her life to save yours?"

"Make your decision, Mister Smith," Jenny snarled.

Donna sighed. "You know, I actually liked you."

"That creature is gone now. She went with precious little dignity," said Jenny.

"Quiet!," snapped Baines. He looked back at the Doctor. "Perhaps if the human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge."

He approached Donna with that same menace. So, she did what she could think of and frankly, something she had thought Baines the human richly deserved.

She kicked him in the groin. The Aubertide inside the human was clearly not prepared for this sensation. Jenny let down her guard as she inquired, "Son of mine?!"

Donna managed to wrestle the gun away from her and put it to Jenny's head.

The villagers were in shock. The Doctor was still standing there looking like a confused log.

"Donna..." he said softly.

"Oh, this ginger is full of fire!," said Baines.

Donna shot the gun at the ceiling. "That's how it works then? One false move and mum of yours or whatever gets it." She suddenly began to think she had been watching one too many crime dramas.

"Careful, son of mine," said Clarke. "This is all for you so you can live forever."

"Shoot you down!," said Baines.

"Try it," said Donna.

"Would you really risk it?," asked Baines. "Looks too scared."

"Not even a little," said Donna.

Baines looked to the Doctor and lowered his gun. Donna turned to Rose.

"Get him out of here now! And for once do as you're bloody told!"

Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand as the villagers began running out. She tugged at it to get him to move.

"No, I'm not leaving her. Are you mad?," asked the Doctor.

"Don't be stupid," said Rose. "Come on."

"Would you just shift?!," Donna shrieked.

"Donna can take care of herself," said Rose. "Come on."

"I won't abandon you," the Doctor said to Donna.

"Oh, now you won't but when it's time to fight the pig men, I'm supposed to sort something out!"

"Pig men?," asked the Doctor.

A scarecrow suddenly moved to grab Donna. She screamed as it took the gun from her hand. Another hit her on the head. She felt dazed as the Doctor took her hand and they started running out of the hall and into the night.


	27. Human Nature, Part Four

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I thought I would shock everyone by posting two days in a row. Disclaimer, not exactly a faithful adaptation. I also have to say that the title Human Nature really fits the second half of this episode to me. So, that's some more canon undone, happy reading!

* * *

><p>The three ran back to the school along with Nurse Redfern. Donna couldn't quite work out why it was becoming so difficult to put one foot in front of the other. She heard Rose arguing as they ran, about how they needed to get back to the TARDIS and the Doctor dismissing her. Soon, they were back at the school and Donna heard the most awful ringing in her head.<p>

No, wait, that was the Doctor ringing a giant bell.

"What the hell are you doing?!," asked Donna.

"This school teaches us to stand together-"

Donna finally got the idea as boys began mustering into the main hall and the Doctor prattled on about duty and started giving orders to the boys.

"No!," shouted Donna. "Definitely no! You are not about to bloody do this!" She took the bell from the Doctor and threw it to the ground. The Doctor looked at her in shock.

"Now, my dear, it's important that you don't panic-"

"It's important that you don't send a bunch of little boys out to fight those creatures!" She looked at Rose. "Would you please help me on this?!"

"No. The Doctor would never do that."

"I don't know what sort of madness is affecting you both, but I will deal with it as soon as I can-"

Donna shook her head. "You idiot!"

Just then, the headmaster arrived. "Mister Smith, what do you mean by waking up the whole school?"

"You, shut up!," said Donna. "We are having a conversation!"

"It's Baines, sir. He and Mister Clarke and one of the housemaids. They've been possessed or something. They attacked the dance."

"This is really simple," said Donna.

The men turned to look at Donna as she reached into her corset and pulled the fob watch out of her cleavage. "Open this."

"What did you put that in there for?," asked Rose.

"Because I figured it was the one place you wouldn't reach in to get it!," Donna snapped. She turned back to the Doctor. "Everything in the journal is real. You are not John Smith, you're the Doctor, those creatures are after you! Now, open this so we can stop this!"

The Doctor took the fob watch. Donna and Rose felt relief.

Then the Doctor put the fob watch in his pocket.

"Why didn't you just open it?," Rose asked.

"Why didn't you just stay in the bloody TARDIS?," Donna asked back, her head spinning.

"Mister Smith, I suggest you get your wife under control," said the headmaster. "If there is a crisis, it's not going to be helped by female hysteria."

"Oh, you..." Donna slapped the headmaster across the face. He stood in shock. "I have hated you since we got here! And don't think I haven't seen you looking down my dress any chance you get! Pig!"

"Mrs. Smith," said Nurse Redfern.

"What?!," asked Donna.

"I think you're bleeding from the head."

Donna reached behind her head and felt her hair was wet, dripping down her neck onto her lilac gown. She pulled her hand back around to see it was blood just as the nurse began tending to it.

"Oh, yeah, definitely blood," said Donna, sliding towards the floor.

Nurse Redfern turned to Rose. "Go get water and clean cloths."

"What? Can't somebody else? I have to help the Doctor."

Nurse Redfern narrowed her eyes. "Whatever is going on, I do not think you are helping," she said tartly.

"Fine," grumbled Rose as the Doctor went to help Donna to the floor.

"JOHN SMITH! OH, JOHN SMITH!"

They all turned to hear the voice of Baines in the courtyard. The headmaster headed for the front door.

"Have you been listening at all?!," Donna shouted, unaware that her words had begun to slur.

"Don't exert yourself, Mrs. Smith," said Redfern.

"Do as the nurse says," added the Doctor. "Please."

"I'm amazed she was able to run all the way to the school," said Redfern.

"Adrenaline effect, flight or fight response of the sympathetic nervous system," said the Doctor suddenly using his own voice. "How is she?," he asked in John's.

Donna couldn't hear the nurse's response, but had enough wherewithal to decipher what had happened.

"You did not just shake your head behind mine!," said Donna. "We are not on Downton Abbey! That doctor is the worst ever!"

"What's Downton Abbey?," asked Redfern.

"It's this place in Yorkshire she visited as a child," said the Doctor. Rose returned with the cloths and water. Redfern took them quickly and began cleaning the wound.

"It's a television show!," Donna used her last reserves of strength to shout. The thought briefly fluttered in her mind that those would be terrible last words.

The headmaster and another teacher, Mister Philips went out to meet the Family. The Doctor got up to watch the headmaster through the window. Rose hurried next to him.

"So, Baines and one of the cleaning staff. There's always a woman involved. Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?," said the headmaster.

"Headmaster, sir. Good evening, sir. Come to give me a caning, sir? Would you like that, sir?," asked Baines.

**"**Keep a civil tongue, boy," he said sharply.

The other master, Philips stepped forward. "Now, come now everyone. I suspect alcohol has played its part in this. Let's all just calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines? In fancy dress.

**"**Do you like them, Mr Philips? I made them myself. I'm ever so good at science, sir." He walked over to one and pulled the arm off. "Look, molecular fringe animation fashioned in the shape of straw men, my own private army, sir. Ever so good, sir."

**"**Baines, step apart from this company and come inside with me," said the headmaster.

**"**No, sir. You, sir, will send us Mister John Smith. That's all we want, sir, Mister John Smith and whatever he's done with his Time Lord consciousness. Then we'd be very happy to leave you alone."

**"**You speak with someone else's voice, Baines. Who might that be?"

**"**We are the Family of Blood."

"Well, I warn you, the school is armed."

**"**All your little tin soldiers. But tell me, sir, will they thank you?"

The headmaster looked truly puzzled. "I don't understand."

"What do you know of history, sir? What do you know of next year?"

**"**You're not making sense, Baines."

"1914, sir. Because the Family has travelled far and wide looking for Mister Smith and, oh, the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?"

**"**Don't you forget, boy, I've been a soldier. I was in South Africa, I used my dead mates as sandbags, I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country!"

"Et cetera, et cetera," he turned and fired on the headmaster.

Rose shrieked. The Doctor turned away from the window.

"So," said Donna, fighting to keep her eyes open, "that's not gone well, has it?"

Redfern looked down at Donna.

"Top Gear. You wouldn't get it," she said dismissively as Philips hurried back in.

"They've killed the headmaster," Philips said frantically. "They want Mister Smith. We have to defend ourselves."

"Oh, no, no, no," said Donna. "No. Seriously, no."

She slumped back against the floor as Redfern struggled to help her up.

"Donna? Donna?," he asked his voice cracking. "Please don't leave me, Donna. Please."

Rose collected herself and attempted to speak to the Doctor.

"You have to open the watch," she said. "You're the only one- the Doctor is the only one who can stop this."

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm just John Smith! That's all!"

"No," said Donna.

"Don't try to speak," the Doctor said softly with tears in his eyes.

"But you're not," said Rose. "You're the Doctor. You travel the universe and save people."

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't want to be. Why would I want to be him?"

"You'd have me," said Rose.

"No, thank you," he said gruffly, turning his attention back to his wife. He stroked her hair gently as he struggled to keep composure. "What about Donna? Where does she fit into this?"

"I don't know," said Rose. "She said you two were..."

"Said we were what?," he asked growing impatient.

Rose couldn't answer. She wasn't sure if she didn't know or if she was just afraid to know.

"In my dreams, you're there," the Doctor said, voice cracking.

"Yes," said Rose.

"I don't love you, even then. Not as you would wish. I blame myself for your circumstances."

"It wasn't your fault," Rose said quietly. "I made my choice."

The Doctor scoffed with contempt. "You were too young to make it."

Rose looked to see the Doctor now had the fob watch in his hand. He took Donna's hand in his as he held it.

She watched as he seemed to have some sort of revelation, an awakening.

"What?" was all that Donna said, intended to be in her signature form of shock, but not one that she was capable of.

"What happened? Did you see something?," asked Rose.

He left the fob watch in Donna's hand for that moment. He turned to Rose with urgency,

"This Doctor, he can save her?," he asked. "If he comes back, Donna lives."

"Yeah," said Rose. "I think so."

The Doctor took the watch away from Donna and gave her one last kiss.

He opened the fob watch.

There was silence. For a minute, Rose was afraid that nothing at all had happened.

"Doctor?," she asked softly.

He shot her a glare. A cold glare that Rose had never been the object of, one reserved for monsters and demons.

She had her confirmation that the Doctor had returned, but not the way she wanted it.

"Yes," he said sternly. He quickly turned his attention to Donna's wound. "Qh, quick stop in the TARDIS, we can patch this right up. She's unsinkable, our Donna, well, my Donna, well, not really mine..."

Redfern stared at the Doctor. "I'm sorry, what on Earth is going on?"

"Oh, right, we haven't been properly introduced! Hello, I'm the Doctor. And you're the nurse! Isn't that something? Glad to see you're not a cat."

"Master Smith?," asked Philips. "Aren't we going to engage the enemy?"

"What? A bunch of schoolboys shooting at a bunch of artificially animated scarecrows? Sorry, Philips, old chap, that wouldn't do. Now, I just need to get back to the TARDIS..."

"It's in a barn," Rose said quickly, eager to prove her worth. "Out to the west-"

She noticed as he stopped at the window, having happened upon something Rose jumped up to see what it was.

"Oh, no," said Rose, staring at Clarke and the scarecrows guarding the TARDIS in the front of the school. She looked at the Doctor. "What do we do?"

"Well," said the DOctor, "I'm a genius, so I'm going to sort out some way to save Donna, get the TARDIS back, save the school and punish the family. Why don't you just sit here and try not to screw it up?"

"What?,' asked Rose.

"You had one thing to do, Rose! One thing!"

"I'm sorry," Rose said without conviction.

The Doctor went back to Donna and helped Redfern sit her up. "Still with us, Donna?"

"Yeah," Donna slurred, "Great time this."


	28. Human Nature, Part Five

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thank you for all the reads and reviews and follows. I really appreciate it. Again, not a faithful adaptation of Human Nature. Thanks and happy reading!

* * *

><p>It was very hard for Donna to follow what was going on while she bled out her skull.<p>

As far as she could gather, the Doctor was back and running around as usual, having done something in the kitchen she couldn't quite follow. Rose was- how had that woman on Oprah put it? - a hot mess, trying to apologize and throw herself at the Doctor at the same time.

"Donna," said Redfern, "are you aware you just said that all out loud?"

Donna scoffed. "This would never happen on Downton Abbey. Maggie Smith would never stand for it."

"Donna, time line," said the Doctor.

She threw her hands up. "When's she going to meet Maggie Smith?!"

"Do you have a plan?," asked Mister Philips.

"Of course I do. I'm a genius. I'm going to give them what they want."

"You're going out there?!," spat Donna.

"Yes, course I am," said the Doctor. "Only way to get back inside the TARDIS, fix that skull of yours."

"That's suicide," said Rose. "Don't you still smell Time Lord or whatever?"

"Already got that sorted, olfactory misdirection, sort of like ventriloquism of the nose, elementary trick in certain parts of the universe, definitely not in this galaxy-"

Donna looked at Nurse Redfern. "I'm going to die."

"Let me come with you," said Rose. "Please. I can help."

The Doctor ignored her. "Joan, keep her talking. Donna, you hang on!"

"Good luck stopping that," said Donna.

The Doctor went out into the night. Rose followed.

Donna groaned. "If she dies this time, I'm not even going to feel bad."

"Is she really your sister?," asked Redfern.

Donna snorted. "No. You think she would have survived my mum?"

"I've never met your mother," said Nurse Redfern.

"Lucky you. You get to miss her by fifty years or a thousand or whenever the hell we are."

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked out to the Family, assuming the voice and overly polite manner of John Smith.<p>

"Uh, yes, so sorry about all the trouble, I just want to be left alone in peace. Is that so much?"

The Family exchanged skeptical glances.

"This girl here," he said motioning dismissively at Rose, "says that my consciousness is stored inside that blue box there. I have to go inside and you can have it. You can just have the whole thing and be on your way and leave me alone."

"Right," said Rose.

The Family watched as the befuddled John Smith showed them into the console room of the TARDIS. Rose watched in horror.

"Oh," said the Doctor, turning around, "one thing I forot to mention."

"What, you sniveling idiot?," asked Baines.

"I lied."

The Doctor flipped a switch on the console and the ship went from emergency to full power as she hummed into life. The Family tried to run and the door locked. They were trapped in prisms of energy as the Doctor flipped another switch, making them vanish.

"What happened?," asked Rose.

"Teleport. Sent them to the TARDIS holding cell, haven't had to use that in a while. Anyway, got to get back to Donna." He cast Rose another glare.

"Doctor, I-"

"I don't care, Rose," said the Doctor, hurrying back out of the TARDIS.

"But, Doctor-"

He stopped and turned suddenly, causing Rose to back up. "I asked you to do one thing. What was it?"

She didn't answer. "I-"

"What was it?!"

Rose felt scared of the Doctor for the first time ever.

"What was it?!," he repeated.

"You wanted me to stay in the TARDIS."

"Yes! Because it was the only way to keep you safe, to keep me safe and to keep Donna safe! Now, look at what's happened! People have died, Rose, and that's on you!"

"I didn't mean it."

"No! You didn't think! You never think! Why can't you just think?!"

"I didn't like what she did to you!"

"Mind your own business, Rose!," the Doctor shouted as he walked out of the TARDIS leaving Rose feeling very chastened.

* * *

><p>The Doctor hurried back in the school where the staff were trying to calm the boys. The now lifeless scarecrows were scattered on the ground. The Doctor hurried to where Redfern sat with Donna.<p>

"Come on, Donna," said the Doctor, helping her up. "Let's get you back to the TARDIS."

Donna protested the whole way, going right past Rose as the Doctor helped her back into the depths of the TARDIS.

"Doctor," said Donna, panting.

"It's alright, Donna," said the Doctor as he helped her along the TARDIS corridor. "We'll get you to the clinic, you'll be as good as new."

Just then, the door appeared to the clinic and opened. Donna turned around, halting the Doctor's progress.

"What are you going to do with them?," she asked.

There was a moment's hesitation in his eyes. "Donna, we need to get you well. You shouldn't concern yourself with-"

"When you held the watch in my hand, I saw, too," said Donna.

"Oh," said the Doctor. "Wasn't sure you caught that."

"Kind of hard to miss," said Donna. "Don't do what I think you're going to."

"Donna, they don't deserve any mercy-"

"Shut up! They die in three months anyway, less than, just lock them up somewhere safe-"

"Donna, this entire mess started because I was trying to be kind. I gave them mercy and they squandered it. That's it, I-"

"I'll leave," said Donna.

"What?"

"Do it and I'll leave," said Donna. She faltered and the Doctor caught her. "Got that, Time Boy?"

So, that was that. The Doctor's own ideas of justice were cast aside because Donna asked him to. Well, told. Threatened might have been an accurate word, but this was what he needed companions for: to make him better. The right sort of companion, not the wrong sort.

The Family were locked up in a room inside the TARDIS and the Doctor watched for the next few days as they died off.

Mother was first. Then Father. The grief of the children was real, even for a species as cold as he thought the Aubertide. Then Daughter. That wasn't easy to watch. She still looked like a little girl, even though the Doctor knew she definitely wasn't.

That left Son. He knew there was one person still listening.

"You're a coward, Doctor," he said. "And a hypocrite. The Time War raged across the universe, you've tasted more blood than I have."

The Doctor didn't respond.

"I don't lie about my love of violence, insatiable blood lust. You, Doctor. Your name burns across the stars, striking fear into anyone who crosses you. Is that what I did wrong, Doctor? I wasn't afraid enough? I don't pretend to be a god when I'm not, to make others worship me. I don't want to be adored."

The Doctor felt a hand on his back. He hoped it wasn't Rose.

He turned around to see it was Donna. She still looked a bit unwell, but gorgeous as ever.

"You don't have to listen to him," said Donna.

"It's my fault," said the Doctor.

"No, it's not," said Donna. "They made their choice."

"I didn't mean them," said the Doctor.

"I know," said Donna.

There was a long pause.

"So," said Donna, "what do you think you're going to do?"

* * *

><p>Rose had kept quiet for the past days. Donna was recovering. She came into her room with a tray.<p>

"Well," said Donna, eyeing the tray, "any arsenic?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I can just leave."

Donna sighed. "Fine."

Rose sat down. She had never been in the room before and now marveled at how huge it was. She was practically sleeping in a shoe box these days, it seemed as if her room had shrunk.

"God, not Titanic," said Donna, flipping channels.

Rose shook her head. "I still don't get why you hate that film."

Donna turned and looked at Rose. "It's about knowing when to get off the ship, Rose. You have to know when to get off the ship."

Rose assumed that Donna was still not right in the head. What a bizarre thing to say. She kept to herself and never so much as crossed paths with The Doctor. He was doing something with the Family and she just decided to lay low. What she should have done. It was the best course of action while she thought up something to get back in his graces. Unannounced one morning, the Doctor entered her room and asked her to join him. She was elated to see that wherever they were going, Donna wasn't there. Finally!

Rose went out of the TARDIS and into...

It was the Powell Estate. She was back at the Powell estate.

"The estate? What am I doing back here?"

She turned to face the Doctor who stood in the doorway of the TARDIS. He put her hiking backpack on the ground.

Rose shook her head in disbelief. "No. You and I were supposed to travel forever."

"I'm sorry, Rose, but you've made it impossible for me to continue with you."

"But- I-" She shook her head. "I helped you save her."

"You don't get a prize for doing the right thing, Rose."

"I gave up my family for you!," she said desperately, playing the biggest card she had.

"And I told you not to!," he growled. "Remember? The bit where I mentioned you would never see your own mother again?"

"Would you be standing here telling Donna the same if it were her?"

"I don't think I would have had to."

"There! Don't you see? I love you! I love you more than she ever can! Why do you want her instead of me?! What makes her so special?!"

The Doctor walked back into the TARDIS and shut the door.

"No!," shouted Rose. "You can't leave me like this!"

The brakes started.

"Come back here, Doctor! Come back!"

The TARDIS disappeared, leaving Rose alone.

She sat on the ground.

It couldn't end like this. This wasn't how things were supposed to end with her and the Doctor. She wouldn't let it she vowed as the tears started coming.

* * *

><p>The Doctor walked back to Donna's room. She still wasn't quite herself, resting in bed as endless entertainment played on the telly in her room. She looked up at him.<p>

"Is she gone?," asked Donna.

The Doctor nodded.

"I know that was hard for you," said Donna. "It's for the best, though, believe me, you don't want an obsessed girl hanging about. My mate, Ellie, she was head over heels for this stockbroker-"

"Don't ever adore me," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Donna.

"I go, I find people, I ruin their lives-"

"They choose to go with you," said Donna.

"I don't want to be worshiped anymore."

Donna snorted. "Don't worry about it."

"You're different, though, you don't. You understand me."

Donna rolled her eyes. "If I understand you, I don't think you mended my skull properly."

"Donna, I... I don't want you to go."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Donna.

The Doctor laid down next to Donna and rested, feeling at home for the first time in a very, very long time.

* * *

><p><em>Next Time: A not very faithful version of <strong>Blink <strong>_


	29. Blink, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who which is pretty obvious as I am about to take one of the most beloved episodes of New Who and run amok. Moffat owes me anyway. Thank you for your reads and reviews and follows. I really appreciate it. Enjoy and happy reading!

* * *

><p>"Giant lizards!," spat Donna. "Only you!"<p>

"I didn't mean to accelerate their growth," said the Doctor. "How was I supposed to know not to touch them?"

"Because you shouldn't touch creepy things!," said Donna. "Really, did your mother speak to you at all?"

The Doctor and Donna were racing in a taxi to get to the hatching of some giant lizards that were going to eat everyone in London.

"Get off here," the Doctor said to the driver.

Before the Doctor could begin to ask Donna if she had any money, she already had her card out.

"What?," asked Donna. "Not as if you carry any cash. Besides, this'll be fun, let's see if I have any money a year in the future."

The cabbie looked at Donna skeptically and swiped the card. He handed it back to her.

"Oh, look at that!," said Donna. "I must not be doing so bad! I had ten quid!"

They got out and the Doctor looked at some instrument that he had cobbled together. "This way!"

Donna started going, but then she heard a woman shout for the Doctor by name. She turned to see her.

The Doctor spoke. "Hello! Sorry, bit of a rush, there's a sort of thing happening, fairly important we stop it."

"My God, it's you, it really is you. Oh, you don't remember me, do you?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Sorry, are we going to stop the giant lizards?"

"Giant lizards?," asked the young woman.

"Yeah," said the Doctor, "don't worry about it. Look, sorry, I've got a bit of a complex life. Things don't always happen to me in order. Gets confusing, especially at weddings, I'm rubbish at weddings, especially my own."

"Should have seen mine," said Donna.

"I wasn't at your wedding," said the Doctor.

"You were at the reception," said Donna.

"Yeah, well, you brought me," said the Doctor.

"Your spaceship kidnapped me," said Donna.

"Oh, my God."

They turned to see a young man walking towards them, carrying a carton of milk. He turned to the woman. "It's them. It's really them. The guys are never going to believe this."

"What guys?," asked Donna.

"He means the internet," said the woman.

Donna turned and glared at the young man. "What about me and the internet?," she asked sharply.

"Nothing bad," he said quickly. "Everyone loves you. We totally ship you two."

"They ship us?," asked the Doctor, growing confused.

The woman suddenly lit up. "Oh, my God! Of course, you're a time traveller. It hasn't happened yet! None of it, it's still in your future!"

"What is?," asked the Doctor.

"It was me. Oh, for God's sake, it was me all along. You got it all from me!"

"Got what?," asked the Doctor.

She handed him a plastic portfolio filled with papers. "Okay. Listen. One day you're going to get stuck in 1969. Make sure you've got this with you. You're going to need it."

"Stuck in 1969?!," spat Donna.

"Yeah, listen, listen, got to dash...things happening. Well, four things. Well, four things and a lizard," said the Doctor.

"1969?!," Donna screeched.

"Okay. No worries, on you go. See you around, some day," said the woman.

"What was your name?," asked the Doctor.

"Sally. Sally Sparrow."

"Nice to meet you, Sally Sparrow," said the Doctor.

He rushed Donna away before she could screech again about being trapped somewhere.

"The notes are in the portfolio, Donna!," the man called after her.

* * *

><p>"Should we get a bite to eat?," asked Donna, later after the lizards had been dealt with and they were walking back to the TARDIS.<p>

"I don't think so, Donna," said the Doctor. "This is a year into your future. You can't have too much foreknowledge."

Donna stopped in her tracks. "My future?"

The Doctor had gone forward a little, then stopped to turn around. "Yes. London. One year in your future."

"Again, my future," said Donna. "Just mine?"

The Doctor shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"Not yours?"

"Why would it be mine?"

"Fine," said Donna, starting over the road away from the Doctor. "Seeing as it is my future, I think I'm entitled to know what's going on. After all, I'm going to find out soon!"

"Donna, no!," said the Doctor.

Donna walked up to a group of schoolgirls. "Sorry, girls, quick question, Posh and Becks still together?"

"Donna!"

"Yes," answered the leader with a furrowed brow.

"Never saw that coming." She looked at the Doctor as he darted across the road. "Hear that? Posh and Becks are still together!"

The Doctor arrived at the pavement. "Donna, stop it."

She scowled and turned back to the girls. "Who won the election?"

"What?," asked one of the girls.

"The election, last year. Who won? Who's the bloody Prime Minister?!"

The Doctor pulled Donna away. "That's enough."

"Oh, well, it's my future, ought to get on with it, hadn't I?"

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Are you a total moron?!," she asked. She shook her head. "Never mind. I forgot who I was dealing with. You said my future!"

"Yes," said the Doctor.

"So, when are you dropping me back at my flat?"

The Doctor was flummoxed. "What? Do you want to go back to your flat?"

"No!," said Donna.

"Then why are we talking about you leaving?"

"Because you said my future, implying we had separate futures."

"When did I imply that?," asked the Doctor.

"Then what are we?," asked Donna. "Is this going somewhere?"

The Doctor grabbed Donna and kissed her, causing the schoolgirls down the pavement to chuckle. She broke it off.

"That wasn't an answer," said Donna, "but I'll take it."

* * *

><p>Donna opened the TARDIS door to her and the Doctor's latest destination.<p>

"Oh, yea," said Donna. "A creepy old house."

The Doctor looked at Donna. "What sort of attitude is that?"

"A prudent one, travelling with you," said Donna. She walked around. "What are we doing here anyway?"

"The TARDIS detected some disturbances here," said the Doctor.

Donna looked out the window. There was a lovely if overgrown garden with some statues in it. "When are we?," she asked.

"Uh, two thousand and six."

Donna snorted. "Maybe I ought to go find myself and warn me not to go out with Lance."

"Can't do that," said the Doctor, staring at his sonic screwdriver. "Then you never would have met me."

"Don't dismiss it," said Donna, looking back out the window at the statue. "I could warn you to dump Rose."

"Okay, suppose you do, suppose I do, then what makes you come with me?"

Donna shrugged. "I could ask you to pick me up."

"Then if you do that, nothing ever happened to make you tell me to pick you up."

"Except I would have," said Donna. "There's a name for that, right? Like a grandfather paradox?"

"No, what you're describing is an ontological paradox," said the Doctor.

"Oh, God," said Donna. "Now you're going to tell me the difference."

Donna turned back to the window. The statue looked closer. Definitely closer. She walked towards the window. "Did that statue move?"

"What?," asked the Doctor. He turned. "Donna, what did you just say?"

"That statue looks closer than it did a moment ago," said Donna.

The Doctor approached Donna. He took her arm. "Donna, whatever you do, don't-"

There was something like a big whoosh and Donna felt as if the wind had been taken out of her. She came to in an alley, the Doctor holding her arm.

"I said don't blink!," the Doctor spat.

"What?," asked Donna. "You did not!"

"Those creatures. They're called Weeping Angels."

Donna shook her head. "What creatures?"

"The statues!"

Donna shook her head. "The statues are alive?"

"Yes! And you can't turn your back or look away or blink, because if you blink, you're dead!"

"What the hell does that mean? Blink and I'm dead?! Who invented that? Death by blinking?! I'm not dead! I'm here! Where is here?"

The Doctor sniffed the air. "Cigarette smoke, marijuana and exhaust fumes. 1969."

"Really?," asked Donna. "You can tell what year it is by smelling?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Or maybe you just remembered that Sally Sparrow said one day we'd get stranded in 1969 and that just happens to be today!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Maybe."

The Doctor helped Donna stand up. They walked out of the alley and into the street.

"God, 1969," said Donna, "I won't even be born for a year."

"Right," said the Doctor, "did your family always live in London?"

"Yes," said Donna.

"Slight problem," said the Doctor. "We have to make certain you don't cross paths with your family."

"Oh, living in 1969 gets better and better." Donna sighed. "Let's get a drink."

"A drink?," squeaked the Doctor.

"Do you think there will be a time we need a drink more?"

"I don't have any money," said the Doctor.

"Do you have that portfolio?," asked Donna.

The Doctor pulled it out of his coat pocket. Donna took it and opened it, pulling out some old looking pound notes.

"See, that's a start," said Donna.

"You are brilliant," said the Doctor.

Donna grinned. "Come on, Martian. Buy me a drink."

* * *

><p>They found a nearby pub, luckily it was full of West Ham supporters, which was a boon to the whole operation. They ordered two pints and sat down with the portfolio.<p>

"Alright, how long are we stuck here?," Donna asked after the Doctor flipped through the papers with preposterous speed.

"Three months or so, more or less," said the Doctor.

"Three months?!," exclaimed Donna. "Why do you always want me to be stuck everywhere three months?!"

"It's not my idea!," said the Doctor. "We have to wait that long for Billy Shipton in order to get the message to Sally Sparrow."

"Who's Billy Shipton?," asked Donna.

"He's the one who's going to put the Easter eggs on these DVDs," the Doctor said, handing a list to her.

Donna looked at it. "Love Actually. Moulin Rouge. Bridget Jones' Diary. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Pride and Prejudice, oh, the miniseries, not that stupid film with Keira Knightley."

"What do you have against the film?"

"Are you serious? It was a complete over-simplification of the story." Donna looked back at the list. "Trainspotting, well, that's different. Remains of the Day. Girl With a Pearl Earring-"

"I knew her," said the Doctor.

"Right," said Donna. "What A Girl Wants."

The Doctor frowned. "What A Girl Wants? What has she got that for?"

"It's got Colin Firth," Donna said quickly.

The Doctor looked at her. "Sorry. What about Colin Firth?"

"Sally clearly has a thing for Colin Firth. I would say she has taste, but for some reason she's got Much Ado About Nothing."

"Oh, the one with Kenneth Branaugh," said the Doctor.

"That's the one," said Donna. "Howard's End. Armageddon."

"This is really a rubbish DVD collection," said the Doctor.

"Maybe it was a gift," said Donna. "I have a cousin who gets me some wretched DVD every Christmas. Oh, we're improving now: Cool Hand Luke. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The Hustler."

"What? Now she's got a thing for Paul Newman?"

"Paul Newman will never stop being attractive," said Donna. "Last two. Crash and... Titanic. The 2005 collectors' edition."

"It's as if that film is chasing you through time and space," said the Doctor.

"You have to know when to get off the ship, Doctor," said Donna. She handed the list back to him. "So. Three months. We need a place to stay and some more money. No cash machines, so I don't suppose we can just sonic ourselves any? You don't have a bank account lying around, do you?"

"Not one I can use without creating another paradox," said the Doctor.

"Right," said Donna. "We're going to need jobs."

"Job!," exclaimed the Doctor. "I've never had a job!"

Donna narrowed her gaze. "So, what? You're too good to work, now? I'm starting to see where your little blonde friend got some of her ideas."

"I'll be busy doing everything in the portfolio," the Doctor protested. "We have to get the TARDIS back or the Weeping Angels will take out the solar system, maybe the galaxy."

"Three months worth of busy? Really?"

The Doctor felt chastened. "Okay, perhaps I could fit some work in. What sort of job are you going to get, though?"

"A secretary's a secretary," said Donna. She looked at the people around the bar. "Now, I'm going to see if anyone knows of a flat or room or something. Otherwise, it's back to the alley for us."

The Doctor smiled and watched Donna as she went to work her magic at the bar.


	30. Blink, Part Two

Author's Note: I do not own Doctor Who. So sorry for the long wait (on all my stories). I have been exhausted between work and I'm doing a half marathon a week from Sunday. I know, you guys are probably all like, "Why can't this girl just write and forget this stupid running thing?." So, thanks for the reads and reviews and follows. I appreciate it. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna looked at the clock for what must have been the millionth time that hour. It was the end of a long day and all she wanted was to go back to the flat and relax in a place where she didn't have to pretend she didn't know the future. Like this documentary had been on about the Royal Family and Charles had been invested as Prince of Wales. She had to sit and listen to them go on, completely unable to gossip. It was practically torture.<p>

She had gotten the job as a secretary with the help of the Doctor's psychic paper at a pretty successful advertising firm. Apparently, all ad men did all day was drink and flirt with the staff. She had the worst of the executives, quite prone to passing out after he made a grab for Donna's bum. 1969 was not as great as she might have thought. The past was a nice place to visit, but she didn't want to live there.

Meanwhile, the Doctor worked on... whatever the hell he was working on and Donna had made him find a job. She would be damned if she was going to be supporting a man. The Doctor went to work at a bookshop and Donna could hardly believe how bad he was at working. The owner pulled Donna aside to ask if he had any mental problems as he was prone to forgetting to ask the customers to pay.

Donna might have made up something about the war. That was the other thing about 1969. Too many lies. She had made so many to the office girls that they were becoming hard to keep track of.

"So, Donna, we're all going for drinks after work," said Mitzy.

"No, thanks," said Donna. "I have to hurry home."

Edith sided up to the desk, eager to join in on the conversation. "Why not, Donna? Can't your doctor husband manage for one night?"

Right. About that. Donna might have told the office that she was married. It was bad enough being single at thirty-six in 2007, she wasn't eager to explore it in 1969. She had called her imaginary husband John Noble, "The Doctor" once and now she had them thinking he was a doctor, which he was sort of, maybe, she still hadn't seen any diplomas.

"Donna, love, when are you going to bring us some pictures of your children to look at?"

Also, she might have said she had children. Only because she didn't want to be the pathetic one without children. There was another woman in the office that had been married ten years with no children and all the other office girls looked at her as if she was terminally ill. Eager to avoid that, Donna had made up Josh and Ella.

If she was making up a fake marriage, she might as well make up fake children, otherwise what was the point of the fake marriage? She had also harbored the hope that being the mother of two children might make her immune to the sexual harassment of the firm's executives.

"Mrs. Noble, may I see you in my office?"

Oh, well. It was a thought.

After thwarting more sexual harassment, Donna made the trek back to the flat she and the Doctor shared. She had managed to find it the night they had arrived by chatting up the other West Ham fans at the pub. They had a routine. She went to work at the agency, the Doctor went to work at the book shop around the corner.

"Hello!," Donna called entering the flat.

"Hello," said the Doctor, not looking up from whatever contraption he had set up on the tea table. There appeared to be a tape reel, bits of a radio and one of those bells you tapped at a hotel front desk.

"So, you've not started supper then I take it?," asked Donna.

"What?," asked the Doctor, clearly not listening at all.

Donna sighed. "Great."

Donna walked to the kitchen, intent on not starving to death. She went into the fridge and took a look. She popped back up.

"Forgot about the shop as well?," asked Donna.

"What shop?"

Donna spotted the list she left for the Doctor that morning on the counter. "Never mind."

She went back into the fridge. They had eggs and a few random veggies. Omelet it was. Donna started the cooker and got out a pan. She went to crack one in the bowl and none of the yoke came out. She banged it again and nothing happened except the cracking away of the shell. She peeled it all back and found that it was hard-boiled.

"Doctor," said Donna.

"Uh-huh."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor looked up at Donna. "Yes?"

"The eggs are hard-boiled," she said. "Why would you boil them and put them back in the carton?"

"I didn't," said the Doctor.

"Well, I didn't. That leaves you."

"Well, I didn't." The Doctor's gaze turned to his experiment on the tea table. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"I was having some problems with the Timey Wimey Detector earlier. It must have boiled the eggs."

"What?," asked Donna.

"Yeah, had a problem with a chicken earlier as well."

Donna shook her head. "Forget it! We're going for chips."

"I'm working on my Timey Wimey Detector," the Doctor protested.

"Chips now!"

They went down to the chippy around the block and sat. The Doctor kept looking strangely at Donna.

She sighed and decided to give in. "What is it?"

"Are you upset with me?"

Donna shook her head. "Let's see, you promise me a time through all of time and space and then I have to spend weeks making certain that Rose doesn't suffocate me in my sleep-"

"What?," he squeaked.

"I was in a sewer, the apocalypse, nearly got killed trying to save Nerys and then I spend nearly two months trapped in 1913 as your wife, wearing a bloody uncomfortable corset-"

"You looked lovely," he said.

"Now we are stuck in 1969 and I have had to get a job as a secretary. What a lovely respite from my ordinary life! In addition to which, now I have to avert multiple daily sexual harassments and I ask you to do something simple like go to the store or start supper and you are too busy making a timey wimey device!"

"Donna, it's part of the information that Sally Sparrow gave me! I have to use it to find Billy Shipton, so he can put the message on the DVDs and we can get the TARDIS back!"

"You're the one always going on about what a genius you are! You can't do that and run to the shops?"

"I didn't hear you say anything about the shops!"

"God, you're just like every other bloke..."

"Take that back!," said the Doctor, suddenly very offended.

"Donna?"

Donna froze, horrified at the voice she heard. She turned to see Edith from the office.

"Edith, hi. What a surprise." Donna glanced at the Doctor. He had perked up, decidedly grateful for the distraction.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor."

Edith smiled. "Oh, we all know who you are," she said with a smile. "Donna, you never mentioned he was so dishy."

"Right, well..." Donna stammered.

"Where are Josh and Ella?," asked Edith, eyes darting around the restaurant.

"Josh and Ella?," asked the Doctor.

"They're over at the neighbors," Donna said quickly.

"The neighbors?," asked the Doctor.

"Don't mind him," said Donna. "He wouldn't notice if a piano landed in the sitting room."

"That actually happened to me once," said the Doctor.

"Right," said Donna, standing up. "We really should be going."

Befuddled, the Doctor followed suit as Donna quickly made excuses.

"What was all that about?," asked the Doctor.

"Nothing."

"Who are Josh and Ella?"

Donna sighed. "Fine! I made up children! We have two fake children! They're eight, Josh loves football and Ella just got a ribbon at the end of spring term prize giving for having the best spelling! There! Happy?"

"No, not so much happy..." pondered the Doctor. "I would say confused is more like it. Why did you make up fake children?"

"Because I'm thirty-seven!"

"So, if you were twenty-seven you wouldn't have made up fake children?"

"I might have!"

"Okay, Donna, I'm pretty clever-"

"Are you? I never heard you say that before."

"Anyway, I'm not understanding this so you're going to have to lay it out for me."

"This is 1969. I was not about to walk in there and say I was a single thirty-seven year old woman with no children so they could all stare at me in pity like I was a patient on a cancer ward! So I said we were married- which I already had to tell the landlady- and I added on some children. I also thought it would be more of a deterrent against unwelcome propositions, but so far it hasn't worked. At all."

"Why do you do this?," asked the Doctor.

"Don't try to pin this on me, Time Boy. You got us stuck in 1969."

The Doctor wanted to protest that he had not in fact gotten them stuck in 1969, but quickly realized the futility inherent in such an undertaking. "I meant, why do you always try so hard conforming to what you think you should be? Like life is some sort of exam and you have to tick off all the right boxes? So, maybe you're not like everyone else. You're Donna and that's so much better."

Donna was completely floored by this. She stammered, trying to come up with the right response.

Then something went ding.

"Oh!," said the Doctor, pulling the Timey Wimey Detector out of his coat pocket. "Here we go! Allons-y!"

The Doctor started running and Donna went after him.


	31. Blink, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry about the delay. I haven't been feeling well and I had a half marathon. Thank you for the reads and reviews, I appreciate it so much. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>"So, that's pretty much the size of it," said the Doctor.<p>

Billy Shipton stared incredulously at the Doctor and looked back at Donna. "Okay, really, what the hell is going on?"

Donna cast a glare at the Doctor and sat down next to Billy on the sofa. They had brought him back to the flat after finding him in the alley. Donna had the mad idea it might be better to tell Billy that his life was essentially over with a cup of tea and maybe some biscuits.

"You're in 1969," said Donna.

"I get that," said Billy.

"We need you to deliver a message to Sally Sparrow so we can get our time machine back."

"Vut if you have a time machine, can't you come back for me?"

"No," said the Doctor. "You have to go through with it, else there's no one to deliver the mesage to Sally Sparrow, or to put the encoding on the DVDs. I nearly forgot that, do you like DVDs? Because I sort of need you to make that your job."

Donna glared at the Doctor again.

"What about my job?," asked Billy. "What about my mum and my sister? What will they think?"

"I'll tell them," said Donna, patting Billy's hand. "I'll make sure of it."

"But why?," asked Billy.

"Because if those creatures get inside my ship, they could burn out the sun," said the Doctor.

"It'll be alright," said Donna. "1969's not horrible. Except for the sexual harassment, which you shouldn't have to worry about. I mean, there is this one bloke at my office but he's so far in the closet, he slapped my bum in front of everyone at Sarah's birthday party."

The Doctor frowned at Donna. "What exactly goes on at your office?"

"Advertising," said Donna.

"Right," said the Doctor, uncertain. "That reminds me, can you get us a studio?"

* * *

><p>It was a quiet evening after the office had been abandoned when Donna snuck in the Doctor and Billy. They went in and struggled to make sense of the equipment.<p>

"Okay," said Billy. "I think I've got this old heap working."

"Donna, did you set up the autocue?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Clever Martian. Can't memorize a bit of dialogue?"

"Why does she keep calling you Martian?," asked Billy.

"Because that's what he is," said Donna.

"I am not from Mars," said the Doctor.

"Nobody knows where Gallifrey is," said Donna.

"Okay, let's start," said Billy as the film began to reel.

"Yep, that's me," said the Doctor.

Donna rolled her eyes as the Doctor paused for the other half of the conversation.

"Yes, I do," said the Doctor.

"Yep, and this."

"Sorry, is this going to make actual sense when they play it back?," asked Donna.

"Donna," the Doctor grumbled and then added, "Are you going to read out the whole thing?"

There was another pause.

"I'm a time traveller. Or I was. I'm stuck in 1969."

"Oh, that does it!," said Donna.

"Donna!"

Donna stepped into view of the camera and pushed the Doctor over so they could share the chair he sat on.

"We are stuck in 1969," said Donna. "He has been an absolute menace since the day I met him!"

"How do you figure that?," asked the Doctor.

"I'm sorry, which one of us made the giant spider angry?"

"She was going to eat you!"

"Not to mention the teenager who he was travelling round with!"

"She was not a teenager," said the Doctor.

"In what way was she not?" Donna looked back at the camera. "Anyway, he offers to take me through time and space and he finally dumps her, then we get stuck here. Brilliant time I'm having in the exotic world of the secretarial pool. Oh, wait, that's what I do anyway."

"Well, it's not as if you're going back to that," said the Doctor.

Donna turned to the Doctor. "What?"

"You didn't want to go back, did you?," asked the Doctor.

"You want me to stay?," asked Donna. "Like permanently?"

"Do you want to stay?"

"Hmm, let me think about it. Yes," said Donna.

The Doctor turned back to the camera. "Right," he said, coughing. "I'll get to that."

Donna narrowed her eyes. "What happened? Did she say something in the future?"

"Never mind, Donna." He looked back at the camera. "38."

The Doctor went on about some Time Lord nonsense, "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" seemed to be the gist of it. Then a lot of scary "Don't even blink." Just as he was about to wrap it up, Donna leaned back in and added, "Don't forget the notes."

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"He said the notes were in the portfolio." She looked back at the camera. "Any old money you have lying around will be fine."

"Donna! They're running for their lives!"

"They're probably going to watch it more than once!"

They wrapped it up and walked out of the little studio to find Donna's grabby boss, Mister Pryce.

"Mrs. Noble, what are you doing here at this hour?," he asked, casting glares at the Doctor and Billy. "And who are these unauthorized visitors?"

"Right," said Donna. Just her luck. He'd probably been having a late night "conference" with some of the models from the hosiery shoot. "Well, Mister Pryce, this is-"

"Her husband," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Billy.

"What?," Donna echoed. She was completely floored.

"Yes, I should think Mister Pryce knows exactly what this is about, uh, darling," said the Doctor.

"Do I?," asked Mister Pryce.

"This is about my wife and your unwelcome advances," said the Doctor. "Donna thought I should leave well enough alone- sake of the children and all that- but I wasn't satisfied. That's why I brought Detective Inspector Shipton along."

"Detective Inspector?," asked Mister Pryce.

"Yes, there's been more than one complaint," said the Doctor. "The lid's about to come off of the whole investigation."

"Investigation?," asked Mister Pryce.

"Oh, yeah," said the Doctor. "Any day now, all your dirty dealings will come to light. Consider yourself under caution."

"Under caution?," spat Pryce.

The Doctor looked to Billy. "Yeah, caution, sure," said Billy.

"I think the best thing for you ought to be to leave the country," said the Doctor.

"Leave the country?," asked Pryce.

"Yeah, just leave, right now," said the Doctor.

"You're joking!"

The Doctor turned to Mister Pryce. "I never joke about Donna and I will not hesitate to ruin anyone who so much as musses a hair on her head. I love the hair on her head. It's ginger."

Donna watched as the Doctor's serious eyes made Pryce quiver. He was soon off to his office and opening his wall safe as he threw things in his briefcase.

"What was that about?," asked Billy.

"Oh, you know, setting things right," said the Doctor. He turned to Donna. "Satisfied?"

"Yeah, I've got a few more people I might want you to try that on," said Donna. "I'll make a list."

* * *

><p>It was a few weeks later. Donna had successfully helped Billy get his first job at a small production company. Now all that was left was for the TARDIS to reappear.<p>

Anytime really.

"So, this plan of yours?," asked Donna. "When exactly is it going to work?"

"Sorry?," asked the Doctor.

"We made that film a week ago," said Donna. "Shouldn't have the TARDIS popped back here by now?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, genius, didn't you program it? Why didn't you set it to come back straight after they put the DVD in?"

"It's not that simple, Donna."

"Alright. Tell my why it isn't that simple."

The Doctor mumbled something.

"Sorry?"

"It's the TARDIS!," the Doctor shouted in exasperation. "I think she's stalling!"

"For?"

"For me," he said with exasperation. "She wants to be certain you're going to stay. She likes you quite a bit. She's wanted you to stay more than any other companion. I am slightly surprised she didn't push Rose past the oxygen barrier."

"Wait," said Donna, approaching. "So, she's... I'm confused. She's a voyeur? She was watching us when we-"

"Not exactly, but yes."

"Oh, my God," said Donna.

"It's not like that, well, not exactly. Well, I 'spose I don't really know. Never really asked a TARDIS what she likes. No, see, it's more that she knows you make me happy and we have thus symbiotic relationship. If I'm happy, she's happy."

Donna took a long pause. "I make you happy?," she asked softly.

"Yes," said the Doctor.

There was another long pause as Donna pondered what to say next.

"It's just... that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, Donna, you deserve much nicer things."

"Everything you've said..." Donna began. "You don't want me to leave. That what happened wasn't just a one time thing... You like me? You really like me."

"Time Lords don't have flings, Donna. Despite the rumors."

"What rumors?"

"Oh, trust me, there were rumors."

Donna sat down next to the Doctor on the sofa. "I know you miss them," said Donna. "I've heard you haver about how you didn't get on with them, but I can tell you miss them. I don't get on with my mum, but I'm sure I'd miss her. I don't miss her yet, but I'm sure at some point I would."

"I do miss them, but not always," said the Doctor. "They're near when I want them. They're far away when I don't."

Donna took his hand in hers. She just smiled. She didn't need to say anything. She was so different. She could talk a good game, but she knew when to shut up. Unlike some companions...

They heard a familiar grinding and looked up to see the TARDIS materialize in the sitting room.

"Thank God!," said Donna.

"There's the Old Girl!," said the Doctor. "Late better than never, eh?"

"Let me get my things," said Donna. "Then we can be off."

"Right, about that..." said the Doctor.

"What?," Donna demanded, not wanting to know what the hell else could possibly go wrong.

"We have to make one more stop," said the Doctor. "And you are not going to like it."

* * *

><p>"Get out of my house!," shouted the man.<p>

The Doctor and Donna ran out the front door of the old house, Wester Drumlins, where this whole bloody mess had begun. Not as old as it would be. Not yet at any rate. A shotgun went off just as they rushed back into the safety of the TARDIS.

"Vandalism!," Donna panted. "You've turned me into a bloody vandal!"

"Could be worse," said the Doctor.

"Right. You could have turned me into a bank robber."

The Doctor began the controls. "So," he said, "where to?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Yeah, I'm asking you. Where do you want to go next?"

The Doctor looked up at her with adoring, hopeful eyes.

"Show me the stars, spaceman," said Donna.

"Whatever you say, Earth girl."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: Utopia<strong>_


	32. Utopia, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Okay, here we are. Utopia. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I love getting them. Also, I made a sort of joke in here that I made back in Gridlock that no one seemed to catch, so if you happen to, I'd love to hear from you. Anyway. thanks and happy reading!

A/N: So, no one got that joke. So, I'll give a hint: nueve.

* * *

><p>This was not what Donna had expected to hear about their next destination after a stop at the triplet moons of Kastorvilia Nine.<p>

"Cardiff?," asked Donna. "We're landing in Cardiff?"

The Doctor looked up at Donna, fully expecting that whatever she was about to say would be worth listening to.

"All of time and space and you're taking me to Cardiff?," asked Donna. "Oh, thank you so much, Mister Time Lord, I don't know what mode of transportation I could have possibly used to get here. I would have had to find like some sort of vehicle with an internal combustion engine maybe with wheels on it. Round ones, I think. Like a horseless carriage."

The Doctor chose his moment to interrupt. "Cardiff is built on a rift in space time. Every once in a while, I land on it, open the engines and soak up the energy, refuel."

"So, it's like we're at a petrol station?," asked Donna. "Cardiff is one giant Time Lord petrol station?"

They both turned in surprise to hear a key turning in the TARDIS lock.

They were less than surprised to see who was coming through the door.

A certain blonde.

"There! I knew I'd find you!," said Rose. She looked at Donna. "Oh, you're still here."

Donna turned to the Doctor. "You didn't take her key? God, have you ever dumped someone? That's like Dumping 101! Take the key from the psycho ex!"

"I'm not a psycho!," said Rose.

"She's not my ex!," said the Doctor. He looked in dismay at Rose. "Alright, let's try this again."

He leapt over to the controls and began the dematerialization process.

"You can't just drop me off again!," Rose shouted.

"Watch me!," spat the Doctor.

The TARDIS began shaking uncontrollably and all three reached for the rails. The Doctor looked at the monitor.

"What the hell us happening?!," Donna shouted.

"We're going forward! The year one biliion, fifty billion, fifty trillion!"

"Make it stop!," shouted Donna.

The TARDIS finally shook to a stop. Donna glared at Rose.

"What?," asked Rose. "It's not like I did it!"

"Where are we?," asked Donna.

"That's impossible..." said the Doctor. "We're in the year one hundred trillion."

"One hundred trillion?," asked Rose with delight.

"What about it?," asked Donna.

"No one's ever been this far. Not even the Time Lords." He turned to Donna. "It's the end of the universe."

"Right," said Donna.

"We should really go," said the Doctor.

"Yeah," said Donna, "great idea. Let's do that. Now."

The Doctor froze under Donna's glare. Before he could do or say anything further, Rose was out the door.

"Oh, come on!," he moaned.

"I say we leave her," said Donna. "I know you're thinking that's unkind, but really, let's just consider it for a moment."

"Donna-"

Then Rose screamed.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, here we go."

* * *

><p>They stepped out into the night. A night without stars, lit only by distant lamps. Rose was knelt over the body of a man.<p>

"Jack!" She turned to the Doctor. "What happened? Why's he here?"

"You know him?," asked Donna. She hurried over to the man, shoving Rose out of the way. "You said you'd never been here."

"He's not from here!," said Rose. "We travelled with him!"

"He must have held onto the TARDIS through the Time Vortex," said the Doctor.

"He's dead," said Donna. "I'm sorry-"

Donna suddenly felt a hand grabbing her arm. She looked to see the dead man, now gasping for life and screamed back. Then Rose screamed.

There was a lot of screaming.

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man said when the screaming had finally subsided. He winked at Donna. "And who might you be?"

"Uh, Donna. Donna Noble."

"And here I thought you didn't like threesomes," Jack said waggling his eyebrows at the Doctor.

Rose giggled and threw her arms around Jack. "You're alright!"

"Yeah, no thanks to him," said Jack, looking at the Doctor. He glanced at Donna. "Long story short, he abandoned me."

"Did I?," asked the Doctor. "Busy life. Move on."

"You left him and remembered to take her?," Donna asked the Doctor.

Rose helped Jack up.

"Great," said Donna. "We've all had a look. Back in the box."

Rose looked at Jack. "Donna's not really very adventurous."

"Oh, I bet she's plenty adventurous," said Jack with a smile.

"I am," said Donna. "You know, just end of the universe and all that. Nothing much to see here. I don't even see a Tesco or a Starbucks. When was the last time you saw someplace without a Starbucks? So, just back in the box."

"Sorry," said the Doctor, "is this going back to your apocalypse film thing?"

"Uh, duh," said Donna.

"This isn't the end of the world, though. It's the end of the universe."

"Which would make it worse," said Donna.

"Apocalypse film thing?," asked Jack.

Donna turned to Jack. "Have you seen 28 Days Later?"

"Oh, you mean the not Sandra Bullock one?"

"Yeah, and they have to escape London and they go to Manchester and there's that weird army commander who's gone all Lord of the Flies?"

"The one from Shallow Grave? I thought he was hot," said Jack.

"Okay, sure, maybe he would be hot under non-creepy circumstances..." Donna shook her head. "I'm not really a fan of that nose or those ears."

"What about the ears?," asked the Doctor.

"Who are you two talking about?," asked Rose. "Actually, what are you two talking about? We're at the end of the universe and you want to chat about films? No, thanks."

Rose started marching off into the distance.

"Rose!," called the Doctor.

"Honestly, we ought to get her a lead. Or a choke collar." Donna quickly turned to Jack. "That is not what I meant."

"Did I say anything?" He nodded towards them. "Better follow those two."

They started walking.

"So," asked Jack, "how did you hook up with him?"

"Oh," said Donna. "My fiancé was going to feed me to a giant spider."

"Really?," asked Jack. "I've got a great story about the millennium bug."

"What about you?," asked Donna. "How do you know those two?"

"He left me," said Jack. He tapped at something on his wrist. "But I had this. I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

"You can hardly call that time travel!," the Doctor shouted from in front of them. "It's like I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

"What?," asked Donna. "Afraid I'll leave now that I know you're not the only game in town?"

The Doctor looked back.

"Ooh, testy," said Jack. "He looked at Donna. Brand new glare on that new face."

Donna frowned. "New face?"

Jack grinned and held his arm out. "Stick with me, Donna. I'm going places."

Donna playfully hooked her arm in Jack's as the Doctor scowled.

"Oh, come one, Martian!," said Donna. "No harm in a little flirt. You might actually try it once in a while."

"He could learn a lot from me," said Jack.

"I could not!," the Doctor quickly disputed.

They happened upon Rose, who was staring in awe at the edge of some sort of canyon, what had been glowing in the dark.

"What is it, Doctor?," asked Rose.

"A city or a hive. Or a nest. Or a conglomeration. Looks like it was grown. But look there. That's like pathways, roads… Must have been some sort of life. Long ago."

"What killed it?," asked Rose.

"Don't know, don't care," said Donna. "Back in the box."

"Time. Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing," said the Doctor.

"Yeah," said Donna, "I was listening the first time. Now it's even worse than I imagined. Back in the box."

"Doesn't anyone survive it?," asked Rose.

"I suppose we have to hope. Life will find a way."

"He's not doing so bad," remarked Jack, pointing at a figure running in the distance.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Is it just me or does that look like a hunt? Come on!"

The Doctor was off running, quickly followed by Rose and Jack.

Donna groaned.

"Did no one actually watch that film but me?!," she shouted.

Donna rolled her eyes and started running after them.

* * *

><p>She managed to meet up with them as they intercepted the man trying to evade the hunters. Jack reached the man first and passed him to the Doctor as his hunters closed ranks around them. He reached for his revolver and pointed it at the hunting party.<p>

"Jack, no!," said the Doctor.

Jack relented and pointed his gun in the air, firing a few shots that seemed to scare off the attackers.

"What are they?," asked Rose.

"Does it matter?," asked Donna.

"There's more of them," said the newly rescued man. "We've got to keep going."

"I've got a ship," said the Doctor. "It's safe. It's not far, it's just over there. Back in the box, eh, Donna?"

They looked at the horizon to see more of the same sort of fearsome people headed towards them.

"Or maybe not," said the Doctor.

The man spoke again. "We're close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we're safe."

The Doctor turned to the others. "Silo?"

"Are we voting now?," asked Donna. "Silo! Now!"

They began running again with the creatures right behind them.

The man shouted to the guards. "It's the Futurekind! Open the gate!"

"Show me your teeth!"

"My teeth!," spat Donna.

"Teeth, Donna!," the Doctor said.

They all grinned and put on their best face for the guards. The gate was opened and they quickly got behind it. The guard pointed his gun at the Futurekind and they had a standoff. After that was settled, they walked back towards the silo itself.

"Futurekind?," asked Donna. "How in the hell does that happen? Evolution or zombie virus?"

"I really don't know," said the Doctor.

"It's just if it was evolution, you would think at some point, the normal parents would have been like, 'Oh, no, Genevieve has pointy teeth and likes to eat people!' You'd think they would have sought some professional help!"

"You always say the most stupid things," muttered Rose.

"I think she's got a point," said Jack.

The man spoke to the guard who escorted them. "My name is Padrafet Shafekane. Please tell me, can you take me to Utopia?"

"Oh, yes, sir," said the guard. "Yes, I can."

Donna smacked the Doctor on the arm.

"Blimey! What was that for?"

"What part of 'Back in the box' was unclear?"

"Sorry," said the Doctor as he sheepishly rubbed his arm. He caught Jack's bemused grin and glared again.

"We're safe now," Rose said testily. "If it were up to you, nothing would ever happen."

"Yes, I didn't want to tour the end of the universe with cannibals," said Donna. "I am such a nervous git."

"You didn't have to come," said Rose.

"Well, no one invited you," said Donna. "In fact, you trespassed."

"Did not!"

Jack looked at the Doctor, frowning for the first time since his resurrection. "I think I've missed something."

The Doctor widened his eyes and nodded. "You might say that."


	33. Utopia, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry about the delay, for my non-US readers, it was Thanksgiving and I work in retail which is a dangerous combination. I meant to update sooner, but I kept falling asleep instead. I promise to be better when we get to the next phase of this trilogy. Thank you for the reads and reviews, I really appreciate it. Anyway, thanks again and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The Doctor, Donna, Jack and Rose continued to follow the guards and the man into the silo. The Doctor began by asking for the TARDIS and they followed the man, Padrafet, in as he searched for his family. They were shepherded around by a little blond boy calling out the names of Padrafet's family.<p>

"It's like a refugee camp," Donna said softly.

"Stinking," said Jack. He caught sight of a large man. "No offense."

"Don't you see that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, much better than a million years evolving into clouds of gas. And then another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans," the Doctor concluded with obvious pleasure.

Donna frowned. "Sorry, did you say we evolve into clouds of gas and downloads? Do we all end up on iTunes?"

"End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That's the word! Indomitable! Ha!"

Donna took the Doctor by the arm. "Downloads?"

"Oh, right," said the Doctor. "Uh, more on that later."

The boy called again. "Is there a Kistane Shafekane?"

A woman stood. "That's me."

"Mother!" Padrafet went running towards the woman.

"There you go," said Rose with a smile. She looked at the universe. "End of the universe isn't all that bad."

Jack spotted a rather handsome man. "Hello. Captain Jack Harkness."

"Abandoning me already?," Donna teased. "Still, not the shortest relationship I've had."

"Jack, stop it!," said the Doctor. "Help us with this!"

Jack went to help the Doctor at the doorway that occupied his attention.

"It's half-deadlocked," explained the Doctor. "See if you can overwrite the code."

Jack began working at the keypad. The door slid open and the Doctor began to fall.

"Whoa there!," said Jack. "What have you been doing without me?"

"What do you think I'm for?," asked Donna.

The Doctor grinned. Rose scowled. They all looked up at the silo itself, looking at a rocket. It seemed to be a bit haphazard, made out of scrap and spare parts probably.

"Now, there's a proper rocket," said Rose.

"They're not refugees, they're passengers," said the Doctor.

"They said they were going to Utopia," said Rose.

"The perfect place. 100 trillion years, it's still the same old dream. Do you recognize those engines?"

"Whatever it is, it's not rocket science," said Jack.

"But there is no Utopia," Donna hissed, looking around at the people, not wanting to be overheard.

"You don't know that," said Rose.

"Well, let's see what I do know, it's the end of the universe, we've happened upon the last group of humans in it," said Donna. She motioned at the Doctor. "He said it. All the stars have burnt out, there is nothing left, so where are they going?"

"You don't know that there's nothing left!," said Rose. She looked plaintively at the Doctor. "Tell her!"

Donna looked back at the Doctor as he tugged nervously at his ear. She crossed her arms, waiting for his response.

"Well?," she asked.

They were suddenly interrupted by a man in old-fashioned clothes. He seemed very excited about something. He looked at Jack. "The Doctor?"

"That's me," said the Doctor, eager for any distraction.

"Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good," said the man, leading him away by the hand.

The Doctor looked back at the other three somewhat bemused. "It's good, apparently."

"Well," said Donna, "first time anyone's said that when they met you!"

They followed Yana and the Doctor.

"So," Jack said to Rose, "want to tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing," said Rose.

Jack looked at Donna. "You and the Doctor?"

"Yeah," said Donna.

"They are not," said Rose.

"God, what do I have to do?," asked Donna. "Shag him in front of you?"

"Would you?," asked Jack with suddenly piqued curiosity.

Donna shot him a look, then quickly cracked a smile.

"We belong together," said Rose.

"Well, he knew he didn't want you when he left you," said Donna.

Jack looked at Rose in surprise. "He dumped you? Suddenly, I'm feeling better."

They arrived at a makeshift lab. The man began showing the Doctor different things. They were greeted by a scaly, teal woman with possible antennae.

"Hi," said Donna. "Who are you?"

"Chan Chantho, assistant to Professor Yana, tho," said the woman, bowing her head slightly.

"Captain Jack Harkness," said Jack.

"Stop it!," the Doctor warned from across the room.

"Can't I say hello to anyone?," asked Jack.

"Chan, I do no protest, tho."

"Maybe later, blue," Jack said with a wink. He bounded over. "So, what have we got here?"

Donna frowned. "Did I hear something slosh in your knapsack?"

"Maybe," said Jack.

"What? Have you got a water bottle or something?"

"Yeah, except without a stable footprint we'll never achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?," asked Yana.

"Um, not a clue, no," said the Doctor.

"Oh, as long as you're being helpful," said Donna, siding up to look at the eclectic display of technology.

"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it. Sorry," said the Doctor.

"Oh, it's all my fault," said Yana, sounding dejected. "There's been so little help."

Jack put his knapsack on a table and pulled out a jar with...

"Why do you have a hand in your bag?," asked Donna.

"Oi! That's my hand!," said the Doctor.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "You have two hands. Did you used to have three or something?"

"Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day. In a sword fight," said the Doctor.

"I was there," said Rose.

Donna rolled her eyes. "So what? You grew another one?"

"Yes," answered Rose.

"Oh, you grew a hand as well?," asked Donna. "How exciting for you."

"Might I ask what species you are?," asked Yana.

"Time Lord. Last of. Heard of them? Legend or anything? Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling." He looked at Donna. "You'd think there would be something."

"Probably just a folk tale about a madman with spiky hair," said Donna. She looked at Yana and Chantho. "Got any of those? Maybe a limerick?"

"Ooh, a limerick," said Jack. "I'll have to work on that."

"Chan, It is said that I am the last of my species too, tho," said Chantho.

"Sorry," said the Doctor, "what was your name?"

"My assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge," said Yana.

"That city outside, that was yours?," asked the Doctor.

"Chan—the conglomeration died—tho," said Chantho.

The Doctor threw his arm up. "Conglomeration! That's what I said!"

Donna smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ow!," said the Doctor.

"You're supposed to say sorry," said Jack.

"Oh," said the Doctor, looking at Chantho, "sorry."

"Chan, most grateful, tho."

"So, what about those things outside? The beastie boys?," asked Jack.

"Yeah," said Donna, "was it evolution or zombie virus?"

"Zombie virus?," asked Yana.

"Yeah," said Donna, "have you seen 28 Days Later? Not the one with Sandra Bullock."

Rose rolled her eyes. "No one cares, Donna."

Yana decided to answer Jack. "We call them the Futurekind. Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared they are what we will become. Unless we reach Utopia."

"And Utopia is?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia, where have you been?," asked Yana.

"Bit of a hermit," said the Doctor.

"A hermit with friends?"

"Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It's good fun…for a hermit. So, um, Utopia?"

Yana motioned for the Doctor to follow him. He led them over to a monitor with a blinking red dot.

"The call came from across the stars over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originated from that point," said Yana.

"Where is that?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness. Out towards the wild lands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in. The last of the humans. Scattered across the night."

"What do you think is out there?," asked the Doctor.

"I don't know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind—to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?," asked Yana.

Donna stepped forward. "Okay, this is the part where things usually get ominous and scary."

"What are you talking about?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, please, some beacon, come here, last of the human race?," asked Donna.

"Maybe they found a way to survive, like the Professor said," offered Rose.

"And just how do you survive the collapse of the universe?," asked Donna.

The Doctor motioned at the monitor. "The signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. There's a good sign. Someone's out there. And that's…ooh, that's a navigation matrix, isn't it? So you can fly without stars to guide you."

"How do you know the signal doesn't modulate automatically?," asked Donna.

The Doctor was about to answer when he noticed Yana looking distracted. "Professor? Professor?"

"Are you alright?," asked Donna.

"I—Right, that's enough talk. There's work to do. Now if you could leave. Thank you," said Yana, walking away.

"You alright?," asked the Doctor.

"Yes! I'm fine! And busy!"

"Except that rocket's not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working," said the Doctor.

"We'll find a way," Yana protested.

"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they're gonna fly."

"Well, it's better to let them live in hope," said the Doctor, tossing Jack his coat, "and quite right, too, and I must say, what was it, Professor?"

"Yana."

"Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" The Doctor picked up a circuit and pointed the sonic screwdriver at it and switched it on. A klaxon went off and lights began to blink with urgency.

"Chan, it's working, tho!"

"But, how did you do that?," asked Yana.

"Oh, we've been chatting away, I forgot to tell you, I'm brilliant," said the Doctor.

"And the best part is he doesn't have an ego at all," said Donna.

* * *

><p>The Doctor started giving out orders in the form of gibberish as he and Jack threw things around. He then asked Rose and Chantho to take some circuit boards somewhere. Donna grabbed another stack and followed.<p>

"What are you doing?," asked Rose.

"No, you, what are you doing?," asked Donna. "How did you even find us?"

"I borrowed some money from my mate, Shareen, and took the bus to Cardiff. I knew he'd have to refuel the TARDIS. That alright with you?"

"No, of course not!," said Donna, shaking her head. "How long since we dropped you off?"

"Three days," said Rose.

"Chan, you are friends, tho?," asked Chantho.

"No," said Donna, "she's hated me since the day we met and I think she's emotionally manipulating a vulnerable man."

Rose's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"Oh, please, stop acting all innocent," said Donna. "He's lost all his home and his family-"

"I know that!," said Rose.

"And so you give up your family and tell him you love him-"

"This is none of your business!," Rose protested.

"The hell it's not. And thing is, he told you not to do it. He sent you with your family which is where you belong because, my God, you need a mother. Then you throw it back at him! Honestly, the cheek on you." Donna almost walked into the little boy with the clipboard. "Oh, sorry, sweetheart. What was your name again? Creet?"

"That's right, miss," said Creet.

"Where's your family, Creet? Shouldn't you be getting with them?"

"It's just me, miss."

"Oh," said Donna sadly. "Sorry."

"What do you think it's going to be like in Utopia?," asked Rose.

"My mum used to say the skies are made of diamonds," said Creet.

Rose smiled. "Good for her. Off you go."

Creet ran off. Rose caught sight of Donna.

"Is no one else just massively creeped out by all this?," asked Donna. She looked at Chantho. "How about you?"

"Chan, I do not mind, tho."

"Ah, see," said Donna. "She's on my side. Anyway, how long have you had a crush on the professor?"

"Chan, seventeen years, tho."

"God, that's a long time," said Donna. "You might want to do something about that. Don't want to end up like Rose, do you?"

"Chan, no, tho."

"Hey!," snapped Rose. "What about you, Donna?"

"What about me?"

"What makes you so bloody perfect?," Rose asked as they arrived at their destination and Chantho began dealing with the circuit boards. "You're not special. You're not anything. We all know you'd be happier in a house with three kids and the Tesco and the Starbucks-"

Donna looked down. "You don't know me, Rose. I, however, do know that you are a spoiled brat who has thought she was so special that everything ought to just go your way."

"That's not me," said Rose.

"Really? Because that's how you come off," said Donna.

"Chan, we should get back, tho."

Chantho started away. Rose went to follow her.

"When they're off and we've left," Donna began, "you and I are going to settle this and that'll be the end of it."

"Fine," said Rose. "Bring your best."

"Oh, I will," said Donna. "And you won't like it one bit."


	34. Utopia, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. More at the end. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna, Rose and Chantho arrived back at the laboratory, where the Doctor was marvelling at Professor Yana's handiwork. Donna was relieved to see the TARDIS there. The sooner she could get out of this nightmare, the better. She was of half a mind to get back in right now just to be certain.<p>

"Donna!," the Doctor said excitedly, holding up some stringy thing. "Look at this! It's made out of food!"

Donna turned to look at Yana. "Your propulsion system is made out of food?"

"Nothing wrong with that," said the Doctor. "He's worked brilliantly with the materials he has. Genius, really."

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Did you ever see the Top Gear where they made a rocket out of a Reliant Robin?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Uh, no, how did it go?"

"Not well," said Donna.

"Maybe you should watch less television," Rose offered from across the room.

"Just as soon as you give up the peroxide," said Donna.

"Oh, we're back to old times then," said the Doctor, looking at Yana's circuitry for something, anything to do with the sonic.

"Chan, what is peroxide, tho?"

Jack leaned over to Chantho. "Donna's making fun of Rose's hair."

Rose walked over to Jack. "What is with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm your friend. You only just met her. Whose side are you on?"

Jack shook his head. "I didn't come here to get in the middle of a cat fight, but you know if you two wanted..."

Rose crinkled her nose in disgust. "She is awful. Why can no one see that?"

At exactly that moment, the Doctor let out a burst of laughter accompanied by Donna's.

Jack nodded his head at the interaction. "He doesn't seem to think so."

Rose didn't answer.

"I saw your mother's name on the list of the dead at Canary Wharf," said Jack. "I'm sorry."

Rose grew uneasy. "Uh, no, well, she's not dead. She's in a parallel world."

Jack frowned. "But that means-"

"I'm never seeing her again."

"I'm sorry, Rose."

Rose shrugged. "Don't be. I decided to stay with the Doctor."

"You what?"

Rose finally looked up at Jack's expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You chose to never see her again?"

"The Doctor needs me."

Jack made another glance at the other side of the room which contradicted that statement. He looked back to Rose. "I lost my dad and my brother when I was just a kid, Rose-"

"I lost my dad, too, Jack."

"I don't think you thought it out, that's all," said Jack, trying to shrug it off and not come out sounding so harsh on a very young friend. He wasn't certain if it was their over a century separation or something else, but she was starting to seem younger every second.

"I don't need you lecturing me, too."

They were somewhat mercifully interrupted by a series of alarms.

"Chan, we're losing power, tho!"

"Radiation's rising!," said the Doctor.

"We've lost control," said Jack.

"The chamber's going to flood," said Yana.

"Jack! Override the vents!," shouted the Doctor.

Jack grabbed two live cables.

"What the hell are you doing?!," shouted Donna.

"We can jump start the override!"

"Don't! It's going to flare!," said the Doctor.

Jack screamed as the power coursed through him and fell limply to the ground.

"Jack!," shouted Rose.

Everyone hurried to check on Jack, except the Doctor. Donna hurried down and started CPR.

Donna looked back at the Doctor, floored by his seeming callousness. "Want to help?"

"The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?," the Doctor asked Yana.

Donna scowled. "Help me! Now!"

"Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing!," said Yana.

"Oh, I don't know," said the Doctor. He grabbed at Donna's shoulder. "No, really, leave him."

Donna looked up at the Doctor to glare. "Okay, he flirts better than you, taking this a little far, don't you think?"

The Doctor frowned. "You think he flirts better than me?"

Donna turned back, to do more CPR, finding that Jack had just awoken and was again gasping for breath.

"Was somebody kissing me?," asked Jack.

"It seems to me, Professor, that any man you send into that chamber will die... I've got just the man for the job," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Rose.

"You're going to have to explain that one!," Donna shouted after them as they ran out. She turned and looked at Rose. "How long's he been able to do that?"

Rose shook her head. "He hasn't."

"He's been waiting for the Doctor over a hundred years," said Donna. "That has to happen somehow."

"What makes you think I know?"

"Right! I forgot! You don't know anything!"

Donna turned back to the monitor that had been giving them problems. "Maybe we can find out what's going on..."

She played at the controls with Professor Yana and Chantho's instruction. They got a grainy picture of the control room and an audio feed of the Doctor and Jack talking as the latter worked at the controls inside.

"Last thing I remember, I was mortal," said Jack. "I was facing death by three Daleks and then I came back to life. What happened?"

There was a long silence.

"Rose," was what broke the silence as the Doctor said it.

"What?," Rose let escape her lips.

"I thought you sent her home."

"She came back, does that a lot actually. Opened the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex."

Donna turned to Rose. "You did what?"

"It was the only way to save the Doctor."

"You opened up the TARDIS." Donna looked back at the blue box. "But she's alive."

"I did what I had to," said Rose.

"Yeah and what did you do to Jack?"

The Doctor spoke again. "She brought you back to life but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life..."

"Could she change me back?," asked Jack.

"I took the power out of her. She's gone, Jack." The Doctor paused. "Do you want to die?"

"I used to think so," said Jack. "Now, I don't know. I could always go out, run into myself."

"Only man you'll ever be happy with," said the Doctor.

"This new regeneration," said Jack. "It's kind of cheeky!'

Donna turned to face Rose. "You made him immortal?," asked Donna.

"I didn't know," said Rose.

"How many times do you think he's died?," asked Donna.

"But he's alive! And so's the Doctor! Because of me!" Rose looked squarely at Donna. "I tried! Someone had to, someone had to take a stand! What about you? Isn't there anything you care enough about to try something, anything for?!"

Donna was about to lay into Rose, but caught sight of Yana. "Professor, are you alright?"

The Professor shook his head, looking stricken. "Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? I'm just a stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked."

Donna's eyes widened as he pulled out a fob watch. It was the same as the one that the Doctor had as John Smith.

Could it be?

"Can I see that?," asked Donna.

"Oh, it's only an old relic. Like me."

"Where did you get it?," asked Donna.

"Oh. I was found with it."

"Found?," asked Donna.

"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this."

"Have you opened it?," asked Rose.

"How can I? It's broken."

"How do you know it's broken if you never opened it?," she asked.

"Chan, Professor, you must rest, tho."

Donna turned to glare at Rose. "You know what? I just remembered I've never seen a radiation venting place. I wonder if it's really like Star Trek II, you know, when Spock melted, so I'll just do that and Rose, you'll just stay here with the Professor..." She tried to give Rose a meaningful look, unsure if the girl caught it or not and hurried out of the room, deciding speed was essential in such cases.

She ran nonstop until she almost smacked right into the Doctor who was otherwise engaged with some bit of technology. "He's got a watch!," she screeched.

"What do you mean he's got a watch?," asked the Doctor.

"A fob watch! Like yours! Same scribble circles and everything on the side!"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!," said Donna.

"So, he's got a watch? So what?," asked Jack.

"It's Time Lord," said Donna.

The Doctor shook his head, still distracted. "It's not a watch. It's this device, it rewrites my biology..." He turned back to Donna. "What did he say?"

"He looked at it the way you did," said Donna. "You know, that perception filter thing."

"That means he could be a Time Lord!," said Jack. "You might not be the last one!"

"Jack, keep it level," said the Doctor, trying to focus on the task of the rocket.

"What does that mean?," asked Donna. "Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know," the Doctor muttered. "I don't know... The watch. Can he see it now?"

Donna was about to answer that she didn't know when Rose came bounding in.

"You were supposed to watch him!," Donna shouted.

"How do I know? I'm not a mind reader, am I?"

Donna groaned. "What if he opens the watch?"

Rose shrugged. "Then he's a Time Lord."

"If he is, end of the universe, great place to hide," commented Jack.

"Yes!," said Donna. "So he might be a Time Lord! A good one? A bad one? What was he hiding for? We don't know anything so maybe we don't want him opening it!"

The Doctor was still shaking his head. "It can't be. He can't be..."

"The Face of Boe, Doctor," said Donna. "What about his last words?"

"Face of Boe?," asked Jack.

The Doctor picked up the phone again. "Lieutenant? Have you achieved velocity? Have you done it?"

"Affirmative. We'll see you in Utopia," was the reply.

"Good luck." The Doctor hung up. He ran towards a door. The other three followed and then it slammed down in front of them.

"Not a great sign," said Donna.

They heard another alarm go off. They heard the roar of the tribe of Futurekind.

"And another not great sign," said Donna.

"This way!," shouted Jack.

They ran down the endless corridors to another door with a small window on the lab. Jack went to work on the keypad.

"Professor! Professor, let me in! Jack, get the doors open! Professor! Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there?! Please, I need to explain! Whatever you do, don't open that watch!"

"They're coming!," shouted Rose.

Donna joined the Doctor in banging on the door. "Open that door or I'll rip your eyes out!"

The door finally, mercifully, opened. They rushed inside to find the professor standing in the doorway of the TARDIS. There was a moment where he and the Doctor stood, sizing each other up as Donna knelt beside Chantho on the floor. The Doctor moved forward, then the professor stepped inside the TARDIS. The Doctor rushed over to try his key, but it wouldn't open. He took out his sonic to try that, but it also didn't work.

The Doctor pounded on the TARDIS door. "Let me in!"

Donna stood up from Chantho. "She's dead."

"I've broken the lock, give me a hand," Jack said to Rose.

"I'm begging you! Everything's changed! It's only the two of us! We're the only ones left!," the Doctor shouted.

Rose rushed to help Jack.

"Just let me in," the Doctor said desperately.

The window of the TARDIS lit up. It seemed as if flames lit up to Donna. Then the screaming started.

"What's going on?," asked Donna.

"He's regenerating," said the Doctor.

"Doctor, you better think of something," said Jack.

Donna went to the door to try to help Jack and Rose shut it as the Futurekind banged away at it, even shoving each other in the quest for fresh meat.

"End of the bloody universe," muttered Donna. "I told you!"

"Hello?" A voice boomed out from the TARDIS trying out different pitches. "Hello? Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me? I don't think!"

"What is he talking about?," asked Donna.

"I know that voice," said Rose.

"I know it, too," said Donna.

"I'm asking you really properly! Just stop! Just think!," the Doctor pleaded.

"Use my name," boomed the reply.

Donna crinkled her face. "What is that about?"

"Master, I'm sorry," said the Doctor.

"I can't hold out much longer, Doctor!," said Jack.

The Doctor held out his sonic screwdriver again.

"Oh, no, you don't!," shouted the Master. "End of the universe! Have fun! Bye bye!"

The Doctor watched as the TARDIS dematerialized.

"Doctor!," shouted Donna, trying to keep her hand from becoming a nibble. "Would you get over here and help? Unless of course you want us to be a cannibal's luncheon!"

The Doctor rushed to join them at the door.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Since we're at a critical juncture in the story, I am going to alter our arrangement to have the next chapter out on Wednesday. I hope to keep it at three days, maybe less from here on out. So, otherwise, thank you for reading. I love getting reviews, favorites and follows. Thank you so much.<p>

Another hint on the mystery joke because I've been asked: Orejas.


	35. The Sound of Drums, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who or this episode, my problems with which I will outline when they arise. I know, I said Wednesday, but this is coming along better than I thought. I trust there will be no complaints. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>Falling from the time vortex and into a pungent side street, Donna almost toppled to the ground, the Doctor grabbed her by the waist as Jack and Rose moaned audibly.<p>

"What was that?!," spat Donna.

"Time travel without a capsule," said the Doctor. "It's a killer. You alright?"

"Yeah," said Donna. She nodded. "I'll be fine."

Rose tried to shake off the sensation of the vortex. "What happened?"

"What happened?," asked Donna. "What usually happens?! You don't do what you're supposed to and everyone else pays for it!"

"How was I supposed to know?!"

"That you were supposed to keep him from opening the watch just in case a complete psychopath came out of it?! Have you seen Aladdin? Any idiot would know that!"

"I am not an idiot!," Rose shouted back, her foot involuntarily stomping against the ground.

"Really? Since when?," asked Donna.

"Okay, ladies," said Jack, "let's just calm down. The moral of the story is, if you're stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator."

"No, the moral of the story is get back in the box!," shouted Donna.

"The Master, though, he's got the TARDIS," said Rose. "He could be anywhere in time and space."

They walked out of the alley and into the street.

"No. It's here. Trust me," said the Doctor.

"Who is he anyway, Doctor?," asked Rose. "At the end, that wasn't the professor."

"If he's a Time Lord, he must have regenerated," said Jack.

"If he's regenerated, how do we find him?," asked Rose.

"I'll know him, Time Lords always do," said the Doctor.

"And who is he to you?," asked Donna.

"Sorry?," asked the Doctor.

She narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. "You clearly know him. You've got some weird thing going on," said Donna. Her mobile beeped in her pocket and she pulled it out. "Oh good. Messages. Nerys got a new job. My mum has tried to ring about twenty times and another message from the temp agency. I am late for my first day. Oh, look. We missed the election. Wizard."

They looked up at a jumbotron.

Rose pointed. "I said I knew that voice. I heard it all the time."

The realization dawned on Donna as well. "Oh, my God. It's Harold Saxon."

The screen had banners proclaiming "The New Prime Minister" as a manicured man and a blonde woman came on the screen.

"That's him," said the Doctor. "The Master is Prime Minister."

The Master kissed the woman at his side.

"The Master and his wife!," the Doctor exclaimed.

"Why does that sound like it surprised you more?," asked Donna.

The man himself spoke. "This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now… is a doctor."

They stood for a moment.

"Okay," said Donna, "anyone think that was just a turn of phrase?"

"Not really," said the Doctor. He shook his head. "It never is."

"We need someplace to regroup," said Jack.

Donna looked around. "My flat's not far."

* * *

><p>Donna unlocked the door to her flat. It seemed like eons since she had been there. "Home."<p>

"What have you got?," asked the Doctor hurrying in. "Computer? Laptop? Anything?"

"I have an old one," said Donna, getting into a cupboard. "You might recall I took the good one on the TARDIS."

Rose looked at Jack. "Who are you phoning?"

"Jack! You can't let anyone know we're here!," said the Doctor.

"Friends of mine," said Jack, "but there's no reply."

Donna handed the Doctor the laptop.

"When is that thing from?," asked Rose.

"When you start paying for anything, I'll be sure to listen," said Donna.

Jack took the laptop from the Doctor. "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages."

"Oh, look, more messages," said Donna, looking at her machine.

"Miss Noble, this is American Express calling. We would like to discuss your delinquent account-"

Donna hit the delete button.

"Donna, this is your mother. We're leaving for Dorset-"

She hit it again.

"Hi, Donna! It's me, Nerys! You won't believe what's happened! I got this smashing new job-"

Donna hit the button again.

"Miss Noble, this Selfridge's calling about your charge account-"

Donna hit the button again.

"Miss Noble, this is Topshop Credit-"

Donna pulled the plug out of the machine.

"How many credit cards do you have?," asked Rose.

"Still less than the number of bottles of mascara you put on this morning."

Jack exchanged a look of concern with the Doctor. "Okay, here he is, Harold Saxon. Former Minister of Defence. First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve. Nice work, by the way."

"Donna helped," said the Doctor.

"Yes, if you can count getting poisoned by your fiancé as helping," said Donna.

Rose cleared her throat. "I watched all about Harold Saxon when I worked at the hospital. Everyone knows him. He's famous." She motioned at the laptop. "See, went to Cambridge, won the sport thing, rugby, went into business. He's got a wife and everything."

The Doctor looked to Donna. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"What is it?," he asked.

"See, that's always bugged me," said Donna.

"What has?," asked Jack.

"See, I remember everything. Ask me who was the first person to go out on the first series of Pop Idol and I remember."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we know your head's full of pub quiz answers..."

"Rose, hush up!," snapped the Doctor. He turned back to Donna. "What are you saying?"

"I don't remember hearing about Harold Saxon, though. I mean, shouldn't I remember hearing about him? It's like all that stuff is there, but it's not..."

"Maybe the Master went back in time-" said Jack.

"No. When he was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them permanently. He can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed. Which is right here, right now."

"But a little leeway?," asked Jack.

"Eighteen months, tops," said the Doctor. "The most he could have been here is eighteen months. So how has he managed all this? The Master was always sort of…hypnotic but this is on a massive scale."

"I would have voted for him," said Rose.

"Really?," asked the Doctor.

"I liked him," said Rose.

"Yeah, me, too," said Jack.

"Why do you say that? What was his policy? What did he stand for?," asked the Doctor.

Rose shook her head as she absentmindedly tapped her fingers. "I... He always sounded... good."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Would you please stop tapping your fingers?"

"I wasn't tapping my fingers!"

"Yes! You are!," said the Doctor. "What is that?"

Rose looked at her fingers against the wall. "I don't know."

A tune played from the laptop.

"Saxon Broadcast all channels," read Jack.

Donna turned on the TV.

"Our lord and master is going to speak to his kingdom," said the Doctor.

"Oh, yay," said Donna.

"Britain, Britain, Britain. What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen—Big Ben destroyed..." he said as the news played video to go along.

"Oh, that's what happened to it?," asked Donna.

"A spaceship over London-"

"Is that when I was hung over?," asked Donna.

The Doctor nodded.

"All those ghosts and metal men..."

Donna pointed at the telly. "Oh, is that a Cyberman?"

"Yeah," said the Doctor.

"Sorry," said Jack, "you missed the Cybermen?"

"She misses everything," said Rose.

"The Christmas star that came to kill..."

"Didn't miss that," said Donna. "Oh, wait, you did."

"Time and time again the government told you nothing. Well not me. Not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this—citizens of Great Britain…I have been contacted. A message, for humanity, from beyond the stars..."

A metal sphere appeared on the screen. "People of the Earth, we come in peace. We bring great gifts. We bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship."

Donna shook her head. "Not buying it."

"Ooh, sweet," said the Master. "And this species has identified itself. They're called the Toclafane."

"The what?!," exclaimed the Doctor.

"And tomorrow morning they will appear. Not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman and child. Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. And every… oh, I don't know… temp?"

"What?," asked Donna.

The Doctor bolted to his feet, looked behind the TV and saw a bomb.

"Everybody out!," he shouted, grabbing Donna. They, Rose and Jack rushed out into the street just as the window of the flat exploded.

"Everyone alright?," asked the Doctor. Rose and Jack nodded. He turned back towards Donna. "Donna?"

"He blew up my flat!," said Donna.

"I know," said the Doctor.

"HE. BLEW. UP. MY. FLAT. I spent three days putting together that bloody entertainment center! I am going to bloody kill him!" She shook her head. "He knows about me. What about my family?"

"I don't-"

Donna's phone beeped. She looked at it. "It's my mum. My granddad's back in hospital."

"Donna, you can't. It could be a trap," said the Doctor.

She glared at him. "I am going to make sure my family is safe. You can either help or say goodbye."

The Doctor stood there, looking at Donna. Rose and Jack waited for his reply.

"Alright," said the Doctor. He looked over. "Jack, we need a car."

"I've got the Smart," said Donna.

"I'm not riding in that car ever again," said the Doctor.

"Right, stealing something with an engine," said Jack, hurrying off.


	36. The Sound of Drums, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who and this is a little late. Sorry, I know, stint at jury duty and the head of the company I work for came to visit the store. Basically, huge deal. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Hope you like this installment and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Jack pulled slowly round the hospital to try to get a look at what was going on. There were no outward signs of trouble, no menacing lorries, no looming helicopters. They parked quietly and hurried upstairs.<p>

"How do we know where they are?," asked Jack.

"Same as ever, probably back to the internal medicine ward," said Donna. "Come on."

"Not the lift, Donna," said the Doctor, grabbing her by the arm. "Let's take the stairs."

* * *

><p>Martha Jones returned to the room where Wilf, Sylvia and Geoffrey were waiting.<p>

She smiled. "Good news, Mister Mott, the test results all came back normal. It must have just been a false alarm."

"That's a relief," said Geoffrey.

"We cut our holiday short for nothing!," said Sylvia.

"Come now, love," said Geoffrey. "Dorset will always be there."

Sylvia rolled her eyes, just as Donna hurried in. She was quickly followed by a quite dishy man in a long coat and the blonde and the skinny man from the wedding.

"Oh, love, sorry to drag you down here," said Wilf. "Just a false alarm."

"Yeah, sorry, long story," began Donna, "my flat just got bombed-"

"My God!," said Geoffrey.

"Oh, do be serious, Donna," said Sylvia.

"I am serious, Mum!"

Sylvia motioned at the Doctor. "What's he doing here?"

"That's John," said Wilf. "I told you about him."

"That's not John!," said Sylvia. "That's the madman from Christmas!"

"Hello," said The Doctor with a wave of his fingers.

"Right, maybe we should hurry this along," said Jack. "We need to get you all out of here and someplace safe."

"What's going on?," asked Martha.

"Look, Harold Saxon is out to get me or something-" said Donna.

"Harold Saxon! What would Harold Saxon want with you.,," spat Sylvia.

"Listen, there's no time to explain,," said the Doctor. "Just shift! And you know, save the emotional sabotage for another day!"

"Emotional sabotage?," spat Sylvia.

They started to hear the ambient noise of radios and people with very serious shoes. Martha looked around the curtain and turned back. "There's a bunch of men in suits with guns."

Jack took a peek. "That is not good. Ideas?"

"I had one," said Donna. "It was to stay in the bloody box,"

"I'll keep that in mind," said the Doctor.

"I know, we'll call Nerys and sort it out," said Sylvia.

"Mum, what does bloody Nerys have to do with anything.?!"

"Yiu mind your language, young lady!," said Sylvia.

Geoffrey spoke up. "Nerys got a job working for Mister Saxon. They called her out of the blue." He paused. "Don't suppose that was just luck, was it?"

Martha looked at the Doctor. "Sorry, I'm getting that Harold Saxon isn't who he says?"

"No," said the Doctor.

"What's he want?," asked Martha.

"I don't know," said the Doctor, drawing a long breath. "It's probably not good."

"I saw you before," said Martha. "On the Moon. You were running round. Wilfred said you helped get us back to Earth. Is that true?"

"Well..." said the Doctor.

"Yes," said Donna. She cast a glance at the Doctor. "This is really no time to start being modest."

Martha nodded. "Okay, then. Stop him."

"And what are you going to do?," asked Donna.

"I'm creating a distraction," said Martha. The others just stared at her in amazement. "Go," she hissed. "Before I change my mind."

Martha walked over as the others rushed out.

Martha swallowed a bit and went over to the men. "May I help you?," she asked.

"Oh, yes, Martha Jones," said a severe looking blonde. "We were told you had a patient called Wilfred Mott."

Not missing a beat, Martha shook her head. "No, I haven't seen Mister Mott in days."

The woman's expression was unmoved. "The computer records show that his lab results were just finished."

"Oh?," asked Martha. "You can hardly trust our computers. They were on the moon four days ago."

"Why are you lying, Miss Jones?"

Martha shook her head. "I'm not lying."

* * *

><p>They reached the stairwell. Jack helped Wilf and Donna's parents hurry down the stairs. Rose wasn't far behind. Donna froze on the steps.<p>

The Doctor looked back. "Donna, come on."

"I can't just leave her," said Donna.

The Doctor shook his head. "Donna, no. We have to keep moving."

"Then you go," said Donna. "I'll catch up."

"Donna, no," said the Doctor.

Donna ran back up the stairs.

"Donna!," screamed the Doctor.

Rose looked up. "Doctor, come on."

The Doctor looked back at Rose then headed back up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Martha Jones was in flexicuffs being led up the hospital corridor by two burly men. The rest of the assault team was occupied looking at the hospital computer.<p>

She fought against them as the men tried to hold her still and ordered the patients and staff away.

"It's Saxon!," Martha shouted. "It's Harold Saxon! He's done this."

"Oi!," shouted Donna. "Looking for me?"

One of the guards turned around. Before he could do anything, he realized a fire extinguisher was heading at him out of Donna's hand. As he collapsed to the ground, Martha surprised Donna by kicking her attacker in the groin and elbowing him in the face, sending him to the ground.

"Nice," said Donna.

Martha shrugged. "My mum got me self defense classes for my birthday. Wasn't that fire extinguisher heavy?"

Donna shrugged. "Weighed about as much as my handbag. Come on."

They ran back down the corridor and into the Doctor. He looked in confusion at the fallen men on the floor.

Donna frowned. "I told you to go."

"I told you to come with me. Come on!"

They started running back down the stairs.

"So," asked Martha, "how long have you two been dating?"

"We were married for a bit," said Donna. "A couple of times."

"Donna!," shouted the Doctor, flabbergasted. "Keep running!"

* * *

><p>They finally arrived back at the car park. Jack was waiting with the engine running in an obviously stolen Land Rover. The Doctor opened the door as Donna and Martha squeezed in the back by Geoffrey, Wilf and Sylvia.<p>

"We're bringing her, too?," asked Rose, looking at Martha.

"You could always give up your seat," said Donna. She looked at Geoffrey. "Dad, do you have that pocket knife of yours? Martha needs help with her handcuffs."

Geoffrey looked in his pockets as Jack peeled off. "What now?," he asked the Doctor.

The Doctor looked back at Donna and her family. "Get them someplace safe."

* * *

><p>After much driving in circles to make sure they weren't being followed, Jack drove them to a desolate warehouse district as rain began to fall.<p>

"I don't understand," said Sylvia.

"Harold Saxon is an alien," said Donna. "We met him at the end of the universe. He's angry about something."

"What do you mean he's an alien?," asked Sylvia.

"Oh, right," said Donna. "The Doctor's an alien as well and Lance was trying to feed me to a giant spider woman and what else? I met Shakespeare. There's cat people in the future..."

"Donna, stop speaking nonsense," said Sylvia.

"No, seriously, cat people," said Donna. "Cat nuns. Giant heads in jars. Also, the Doctor went to school with the Master or something." She looked back at where the Doctor was working furtively with the TARDIS keys they had handed over. "Not that he's told me anything!"

"The Master?," asked Geoffrey. "What sort of name is that?"

"Apparently a psycho name," said Donna with a shrug.

"So, what's he want with Earth?," asked Martha.

"Don't know," said Donna, again looking back at the Doctor. "Again! Someone's not really saying much!"

"Leave him alone," said Rose. "He's doing his best!"

"Who is she?," asked Martha. "I thought she was that daft volunteer from the front desk."

"Watch it!," said Rose.

Martha looked back at Rose. "Are you trying to start a fight with me? Because I am having a really rubbish day and don't really care what some bottle blonde thinks! Worst volunteer ever!"

Jack came back in just then. "Oh, are you ladies going to have a fight? I keep telling you, wait for the mud. Or custard."

"Right, anyway, Rose is in love with the Doctor, he's not interested," said Donna.

"You don't know what you're talking about," said Rose.

"Oh, get a clue," said Donna.

Jack looked at Martha. "I've got a map. I'll need you to drive."

Martha nodded. "Show me."

Jack went off with Martha. Donna walked over to the Doctor.

"Are you going to tell me anything?," asked Donna.

"Like?"

"Like who he is," said Donna. "How you know him. What? Secret brother? Secret something else?"

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean something else?"

Donna shook her head. "I don't know. You're nine hundred. Long time not to be curious. I mean, one time I sort of snogged this girl at a party, I was drunk, which I know is a horrible cliche. Not my cup of tea, it wasn't unpleasant or anything and if I had no other option, that wouldn't be a bad way to go, I think. I mean, given my history with men, if I was going to start playing for the other side, you would think I would have done it already-"

"Donna, what are you getting at?," asked the Doctor, now completely confused.

"Do I have to paint a picture for you?"

"He was a friend," said the Doctor.

"What? Like a 'friend'," said Donna using air quotes on the last word.

"Just a friend, Donna," said the Doctor. "No hand gestures necessary."

"And what's his story?"

The Doctor paused. "When Time Lord children are eight, they're taken to enter the Academy."

"Eight. Of course. This explains why you're emotionally crippled."

"I am not emotionally crippled."

Donna motioned at Rose across the room. "Ringing any bells for you?"

The Doctor didn't respond. "When we were taken for initiation, we looked at a gap in the fabric of reality-"

"What's that mean?," asked Donna.

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," said the Doctor as if no explanation was needed.

"Oh, good. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey all over again."

"Could I finish?," asked the Doctor. "Some say that's where the Master went mad. You stand there, eight years old, staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired, some would run away and some would go mad."

"And you?," asked Donna.

"I ran away," said the Doctor. "I never stopped."

Donna saw the Doctor hold up the TARDIS keys he had been working with. He stared at her for a moment.

"You need to go with your family," said the Doctor.

"No," said Donna.

"Donna, please-"

Donna sat down across from him on a crate. "And what? Leave you when you need help?"

"I'll be fine. Jack and Rose-"

"Oh, well, Rose, that's all better then, isn't it? Absolutely nothing to worry about there!"

"I want you safe."

"I want you safe," said Donna. "And letting you go off on some angst ridden Time Lord guilt trip to fight your old school chum is not keeping you safe."

The Doctor stopped and started to speak again. "I-"

She put her hand over his. "This is not the same as Rose."

The laptop beeped. A Torchwood logo appeared.

"What's that?," asked Donna.

"Torchwood," said the Doctor with disgust. "Jack! Want to tell me something?"

The others came over.

"It's not what you think," said Jack.

"Torchwood," said Rose. "They were responsible for Canary Wharf."

"The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf. I rebuilt it, I changed it. And when I did that, I did it for you, in your honor," said Jack looking at the Doctor.

A woman came onscreen. "If I haven't returned to my desk by twenty two hundred hours, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means, if you're watching this, then I'm… Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network."

"What's Archangel?," asked the Doctor.

"Everybody has it," said Martha.

Jack spoke. "It's the mobile phone network. Because, look, it's gone worldwide. They've got 15 satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel."

"It's in the phones! Oh, I said he was a hypnotist! Wait, wait, wait. Hold on," said the Doctor. He grabbed Rose's mobile out of her hand and used the sonic screwdriver on it. He tapped his fingers against the table in the same rhythm of four as on the phone. "There! That's it! Ticking away in the subconscious!"

"Is it mind control?," asked Rose.

"No, no, no, no. Subtler than that. Any stronger and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code… Vote Saxon. Believe in me. Whispering to the world. Oh, yes! That's how he hid himself from me. Because I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth. I should have known way back. The signal cancelled him out," said the Doctor. He looked at Donna. "And it never affected you."

"Can you stop it?," asked Jack before Donna could ask any further about what the Doctor had meant.

"Not from down here," said the Doctor. "But now we know how he's doing it."

"And we can fight back!," said Rose.

"Oh, yes!," said the Doctor. "First things first, though..."

"Right," said Jack, looking at Martha and Donna's family. "Time for you to go."

"Aren't you coming, Donna?," asked Sylvia.

Donna got up and walked to her mother. "He needs my help."

"What's he need your help for?"

Donna ignored her mother. "Look, I'll tell you all about it later. Usually, it looks like things are going to end horribly and then at the last minute, he pulls out a banana peel and everything's fine. I'll see you soon. I promise it."

Donna hugged her mum, then her dad.

"Don't you worry about us, love," said Geoffrey. "Take care of yourself."

Donna nodded, then hugged Wilf.

"Good luck, sweetheart," said Wilf. He looked at the Doctor. "She's my only granddaughter. Anything happens to her, you're in a world of trouble."

"Oh, I know it," said the Doctor.

Jack showed Martha and Donna's family out to yet another car he had stolen. He returned and Donna looked back at the Doctor.

"What next, Martian?," asked Donna.


	37. The Sound of Drums, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thank you for the reads and follows and favorites! And the reviews! We hit three hundred! Yes! I like reviews.

Now indulge me for a minute because I haven't done this since the Martha Jones apology. Remember I mentioned I had problems with this episode? They mostly stem from the introduction of the American president. I will concede that we have had some stupid presidents and are generally not well liked throughout the world. Yet, I am incredibly sure that none of them would have volunteered to go to first contact because the United Nations said so, just because of the fear of looking stupid. And that speech. It just sounds so wrong. I just think at some level RTD doesn't get Americans. If you doubt me, I volunteer Miracle Day as evidence. (It's also evidence that he doesn't understand people from San Antonio, but that's another issue) Also, the Secret Service just leave? And the President appears to be driving around in a Mitsubishi SUV in that episode. Are you kidding me? Does he think we're this lame? So, I got rid of a lot of it. I was sorry to lose that line about grits. I liked that.

Anyway, thanks for indulging me, apologies to the nation I selected and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna once again fell forward, finding her hands against metal grating. The Doctor once again caught her by the waist.<p>

"We're making a habit of this," said Donna.

"I know. I shall have to keep it up."

"Oh, God, Jack," said Rose, groaning. "That vortex manipulator is rubbish."

"Hey! It does what it needs to!," said Jack.

They had taken the vortex manipulator to where it was announced first contact would take place with the French president taking over for "Mister Saxon." Some ship called the Valiant.

Donna walked to the porthole. "The sun's up. Where's the sea?"

"A ship for the twenty first century," said Jack. "Protecting the skies of planet Earth."

Donna looked out the window to see some landing strips. They were in the clouds. "What? This is an airship? Who makes this stuff up?"

"I think I hear something," said Rose.

"Everyone stay quiet and don't move," said the Doctor.

They stood back and soon a man with light brown hair and a woman with dark hair entered.

"Jack! Where have you bloody been?!," said the woman, revealing a Welsh accent.

Jack stepped forward. "Oh, I am glad to see you two! Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, this is the Doctor, Donna Noble and Rose Tyler."

Donna turned to the Doctor. "I thought you said people couldn't see us."

"Well, they wanted to see us," said the Doctor. "We're safe."

Donna nodded. "Yeah, I'm on an airship that's somehow in the clouds and my only protection is a magic key that only half works. I feel really safe."

"Who are they?," asked Rose.

"They work with me," said Jack.

"More Torchwood?," asked the Doctor.

Jack rolled his eyes. "If you ask me, this whole thing could use a little Torchwood. Why don't I use the perception filter to break the Master's neck?," he said pointing at the TARDIS key around his neck.

"That's what I'm trying to avoid," said the Doctor.

"Let's not rule anything out," said Donna.

"The Master is a Time Lord," said Rose. "He won't die."

"Yeah, but there's got to be a couple of minutes where he's sort of out of it," said Donna.

"Donna, we're not doing that," said the Doctor.

"We don't kill," said Rose smugly.

"You killed all the Daleks," Jack noted.

Rose glowered. Gwen cleared her throat.

"What's going on?," asked Gwen.

"The Doctor has a thing about guns," said Jack.

"Just as well," said Ianto. "We didn't have a chance to sneak any aboard."

"This is Torchwood?," asked Donna. "Fat lot of good you all are."

"Sorry," said Ianto. "Would you happen to know anything about the big, blue wooden box we found?"

"Big blue wooden box?," asked the Doctor. "Where?"

Gwen and Ianto led them across the ship to where they saw the TARDIS. They ran excitedly back in.

Gwen looked at Ianto and back. "It's bigger on the inside."

"Something's wrong with her," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, I took that from the scary red mood lighting," said Donna.

The Doctor rushed to the console. "No, no, no, he's cannibalized the TARDIS. Turned her into a paradox machine."

"He what?," asked Donna.

"A paradox machine." The Doctor pointed at an indicator. "When this turns red, it'll activate. At this speed, it'll trigger at two past eight."

"They've scheduled first contact for two past eight," said Ianto.

"What do they need a paradox for?," asked Gwen.

"Can't you turn it off?," asked Rose.

"Not until I understand how it works. Touch the wrong bit and it'll blow up the universe."

"Better and better," said Donna.

"So, we need to get to the Master," said Jack. He looked at Gwen and Ianto. "Where are Tosh and Owen?"

"The Himalayas," said Ianto.

Jack frowned. "What? Seriously?"

"Yeah," said Gwen.

"Okay, lay low," said Jack. "This thing'll be over before you know it."

"But how are you going to stop him?," asked Ianto.

"Oh, didn't I mention I have a plan?," the Doctor asked with a gleeful smile.

* * *

><p>They went to the main deck of the Valiant. The Doctor, Jack, Rose and Donna slid in. The room was full of dignitaries. At the table were the Master and the woman saying she was his wife, Lucy. Things seemed to be coming together for something.<p>

"What's the French president doing here?," asked Donna.

"First contact protocol," said the Doctor. "The United Nations must have taken over."

A hush fell on the room as the French president stood before the television cameras.

"My fellow citizens of the world," said the French president, "I stand before you as ambassador for the Human race. A role I take with the utmost solemnity and dignity. Perhaps our Toclafane cousins can offer us much, but that is important is not that we gain material benefits, but that we learn to see ourselves anew. For as long as man has looked to the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone..."

"About when were you going to tell us the plan?," asked Donna.

"This key," said the Doctor holding his, " if I can get it around the Master's neck, cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me, you've got a key."

"And I've got one," said Jack.

"So do I," said Rose.

"Are we still saying no to the neck breaking plan?," asked Donna.

"And now I ask you to join me in welcoming our new friends, the Toclafane," said the French president.

As if on cue, three metallic spheres appeared floating in the air next to the French president.

"You're not the Master," the first said in a tinny sounding voice.

"We like the Mister Master."

"We don't like you."

"Excuse me?," asked the French president.

"Man is stupid," said the sphere.

"Master is our friend."

"Where's my Master, pretty please?"

The Master jumped up. "Oh, all right then! It's me! Ta-da! Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy!"

"Mister Saxon, what are you doing?," asked the French president, looking totally flummoxed.

"I'm taking over, Frog Boy," said the Master. "Starting with you. Kill him."

The spheres shot lasers and the French president was disintegrated. The people in the room panicked and there was a mad rush to get out. They didn't even notice they were smacking Donna, Rose or Jack. The Doctor worked frantically to get through the fray as Saxon's people drew their weapons.

"Guards!," shouted Saxon.

"Nobody move!," shouted the guard.

The Master looked at the television camera. "Now, then, peoples of the Earth, attend carefully..."

The Doctor rushed forward as the guards grabbed him, forcing him to kneel.

The Master turned. "We meet at last, Doctor. Oh, how I love saying that."

"Stop this! Stop it now!," said the Doctor.

"As if a perception filter's going to work on me," said the Master. "And look who else. The girly, the freak and the... I don't know, the ginge?"

Jack tried to rush forward and the Master shot at him with a laser screwdriver.

"Laser? Who would have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!"

Donna hurried to Jack. The guards grabbed Rose as she tried to rush forward.

"Master, just calm down. Just look at what you're doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself," said the Doctor.

The Master looked at the camera. "Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business. Back in a minute. Let him go."

The guards shoved the Doctor to the floor. The Master walked over.

"It's that sound, the sound in your head. What if I could help?," asked the Doctor.

"Oh, how to shut him up! I know! Memory lane! Remember Professor Lazarus and his genetic manipulation device?"

Donna looked up from Jack. This next bit could not be good.

"Did you think that Nerys got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver but, ooh, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do!" He opened a silver case, revealing the Doctor's hand in the jar Jack had kept it in. "I've got his hand! And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Another hundred years?"

"Don't you hurt him!," shouted Rose.

It was too late. The Master had pointed the laser screwdriver at the Doctor and he was convulsing on the floor. Donna put her hands over her mouth. She thought she was going to be ill watching the Doctor suffer. She realized that Jack had come back as he grabbed her arm. He put the vortex manipulator in her hand.

"Teleport."

"What?," asked Donna.

"We can't stop him. Get out of here."

Donna shook her head. "No."

"Go."

The Master finally stopped. Donna looked at the Doctor. His body was incredibly old. She crawled over to him.

"It's alright, Doctor. I'm here."

"Aw, back in the warm bosom of... Sorry, I got all distracted. You do have a nice bosom."

Donna scowled. "Do you have a point?"

The Master scowled back. "But the big reveal! All the way from prison!"

The guards dragged in Nerys. Donna looked back at the Master.

"That's your big reveal? Nerys? I'm meant to be scared because you have Nerys?"

The Master turned to Nerys. "You were supposed to be her best friend!," he shouted. He looked back at Donna, coming closer to stare her in the eye. "You. What is wrong with you?"

"Oh, you're going to criticize me?," asked Donna.

The Master sniffed at Donna as she wrinkled her nose. This was getting odd.

The Master turned to the Doctor. "Oh, someone's been a naughty boy. What would the Prydonians say?"

"The Toclafane, who are they?," asked the Doctor in a raspy voice. "Who are they?"

"Doctor, if I told you the truth, your hearts would break," said the Master.

The spheres began speaking again. "Is it time? Is the machine singing?"

"Two minutes past." The Master went up the steps to the controls. "So, Earthlings! Basically, the end of the world." He took out the laser screwdriver. "Here... come.. THE DRUMS!"

A song Donna hated began to play. Was the Master seriously selecting his own theme music? She looked out the window as a rift appeared in the sky. She felt the Doctor's wrist grabs hers and she turned to face him.

He leaned towards her ear and whispered something. Something alien. Donna didn't understand, but it was sort of like a light went off in her head. A click. She remembered Titanic and her railing against it.

"Shall we decimate them?," asked the Master. He looked at Lucy. "Nice word, decimate. Remove one tenth of the population!"

The Valiant was the Titanic. She was Rose... well, Kate Winslet, not Rose and she needed to get off the ship. She looked over at Rose, the not Kate Winslet one. She had managed to get over to Jack, the not Leonardo di Caprio one.

"Rose," she whispered.

Rose looked up. Donna motioned at the vortex manipulator.

"No!," hissed Rose. "We can't leave him!"

"Rose, don't be stupid," said Jack.

"No!," said Rose. "Maybe she's heartless, but I'm not."

Donna looked back at the Doctor. He was begging her with his eyes. She kissed him, which was not as creepy as she thought, considering he looked older than Wilf and she stood, readying the vortex manipulator as Gwen and Ianto were dragged in. The cries for help were coming over the radio to the Valiant. Donna looked back at the Doctor as tears streamed down her face.

"I'm coming back," said Donna.

Then she was gone.

"Wait! What was that?!," shouted Nerys.

The Master looked back. He saw the Doctor was now alone and rushed down to kneel next to him, looking frantic.

"What did you say to her? What did you say to her?!," he screamed.

The Doctor didn't answer.

* * *

><p>Donna again found herself falling forward, only this time there was no Doctor to catch her by the waist so she fell onto the grass. She collected herself and stood. She realized she was at Hampstead Heath, looking out at the city as the Toclafane attack progressed.<p>

"Start walking," said a voice. Someone from the North, maybe? Donna turned to look, but didn't see anyone.

So, as her city was on fire, people running away, Donna began walking.

Other things started clicking in her head. More instructions. Was this what the Doctor had said? It just seemed as if he had said one word. Was it a Time Lord version of an acronym? She didn't understand it, but she was getting more instructions.

Walk the Earth.

Tell a story.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: I am so sorry, France. I am. It had to be someone. And also, the next story, will not be The Last of the Time Lords...<p>

_**Next Time: **A Walk In the Dust _


	38. A Walk In The Dust

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I really appreciate them. If you haven;t guessed, I am going to cover some of The Year That Never Was. I know I say happy reading, but that seems a bit off, but, you know, try to enjoy in a manner of speaking and let me know what you think.

* * *

><p>Donna had always wanted to go to America. Well, she supposed she had been to New York, but there was so much more to explore. She had wanted to go to Las Vegas and live it up in the casinos or a quick holiday to Miami to take in the sunshine. Well, with copious amounts of sunblock and from under a hat and umbrella, but she could put her feet in the sand.<p>

She had never pictured this journey.

Donna had left Britain on a cargo ship, filled with people trying to escape the Master, but there was no escape. She blended in, though, and that's what was important. They had arrived to a ravaged New York with people trying to cope with their new lives, or rather what passed for life under the Master's rule. It was chaos. People fleeing, a world gone mad. The Celebrity Purge had happened while Donna was at sea and no one could quite see the Master's intentions as he began to put the pieces of his plan in place.

Donna was resourceful, though. She managed to collect some supplies. Okay, she mostly raided an abandoned Bloomingdale's, but people were hardly after jackets and boots and knapsacks. Also, she did take quite a bit from their luxury chocolate section and wondered why no one else had thought of that. It paid to have an encyclopedic knowledge of department stores in a crisis.

She also found a bookshop. Again, no one was at the bookshop. She got some maps of America and one of those Worst Case Scenario handbooks. She did manage to find the title a little amusing now that it had actually come to pass.

Then she started her journey across America. In the beginning, she had lots of company. Then they dwindled. From Toclafane attack or from the Master's grand plan. He was making something. Lots of something. He needed slaves and he had plenty. The people got rounded up and taken off to work camps, either for manufacturing or for demolishing the cities to be recycled. Cars, trains, jets, even buildings. Donna had arrived in Chicago as they were taking down skyscrapers to be used as scrap. It wasn't exactly a health and safety approved operation, either, and plenty of people died in the process. She went unnoticed by the Toclafane, though, the TARDIS key was apparently good for something. It was only once in a while she got to talk to someone.

She found people where she went and talked. If there was one bloody thing Donna Noble could do, it was talk. She managed to hitch a ride on one of the trucks that was taking the metal to where it was being used. Shipyards the lorry driver called them. He took her out to the plains of America where instead of growing crops, they were making missiles. The Master was preparing for war, scorching fields to make room for his rockets.

Donna made her way south. The deserts were full of even more missile plants.

One day she was walking, lost in her own thoughts as she often was. It was better than having to think about putting one foot in front of the other and those thoughts were interrupted by the cocking of a rifle.

"Hands up!"

Donna's hands went immediately up. Squinting in the sunlight, in the clearing of the dust, she saw a man pointing a rifle at her. He wasn't dressed like the Master's usual henchmen: cowboy hat, plaid shirt, jeans, boots, the whole kit. He was backed up by several other men and a woman.

"You're trespassing," said the man.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Trespassing? Are you serious? It's the end of the world and you're worried about my trespassing? Well, excuse me. It's not like you had a sign."

"You're not American," said the man.

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious," said Donna.

"Relax, Wade," said the woman. She stepped up towards Donna and examined her from behind the sunglasses. She wore a similar kit to the men, but Donna could tell she was actually quite pretty. "You British?"

"Yeah," said Donna. "London. Chiswick."

"I heard about Chiswick," said Wade.

Donna nodded. "Yeah. Burnt to the ground."

"I heard it almost took out the whole city," said the woman. She looked Donna up and down. "The Master did it to scare some woman. A ginger."

"What do you mean ginger?," asked Wade.

Donna looked at Wade. "She means me. I'm the woman."

"You're Donna Noble," said the woman. She looked at the other members of the party. "She's Donna Noble."

"Yeah," Donna said softly, wishing she had thought of a back up plan. Or at least figured out how to dye her hair. She had tried it once when she was seventeen and stupid. It looked worse than Rose's, she reflected.

"Well, hell!," said Wade, lowering the rifle as the others did the same. "Why didn't you just say so? Wade Gimball, damned glad to meet you."

Wary, Donna shook his hand. "Hi..."

The woman stepped up. "I'm Lauren. That's my idiot brother. This is Juan, Octavio and Elton."

"Oh," said Donna. "Don't meet many Eltons."

"Let's get back to the house," said Wade. "I bet Donna could use a shower and a beer!"

To Donna, that sounded like the most amazing thing in the world.

* * *

><p>They took her back to the ranch house. Apparently, Donna had wandered off her course, so far into the middle of nowhere that the Master couldn't be bothered with them. She had the feeling that under ordinary circumstances they might have been nutters, but upon the Master's ascension they had battened down the hatches, gathered supplies and stayed below the radar.<p>

They had an amazing amount of beer. Apparently, that had been prioritized in the supply gathering. Not a bad strategy, though Donna wished they could have gathered a Cosmo or something. They did have tequila, which she normally didn't care for, but hell, it was the end of the world, right?

"So, Donna," Wade said after the most filling dinner she had in weeks, "when are you going to tell us the real story? What's going on with you and the Master?"

"Don't be stupid, Wade," said Lauren.

"No," said Donna, putting down her shot glass. "I don't mind. Actually, I don't know the Master that well. I had only just met him."

"Then how do you know him?," asked Lauren.

"That would be the Doctor," said Donna.

"The Doctor?," asked Wade.

"The old guy?," asked Juan.

Donna rolled her eyes. "He wasn't that old when I met him. Okay, he was old, but he didn't look it."

Lauren smiled. "So, boyfriend? Husband?"

"Well, yes, and sort of, though, yes, I have said we were married on two occasions when we were travelling through time." Sort of? What was she thinking sort of?

"Travelling through time?," asked Wade.

Donna shook her head. "I don't really know the specifics."

Wade shook his head. "You're a damn nut job."

Donna fumed. "Look around you. Look what's been happening the past few months. Would you ever believe that if somebody had told you? So, I've got to say my time travel is about as probable as this bloody nightmare. Speaking of which, why aren't you all scared of him? Usually by now someone's incredibly afraid."

Lauren shrugged.

"This is Texas," Wade said as if that explained everything.

Donna thought. "I didn't see any mobile phone towers out here."

"AT&T said it would be this July," said Lauren with a wry smile. "You see how that's going."

"What's that got to do with anything?," asked Wade.

"The Master used the Archangel Network to control people. It's why no one suspected him, why there's been so little resistance, because it's every cellular company controlled by fifteen satellites."

"What? Like mind control?," asked Wade.

"Yes, mind control," said Donna. "But you all, you haven't been exposed. How do you even know what's going on?"

"Our neighbor had a satellite dish," said Lauren. "His ranch was about twenty miles away. He came and told us when the Toclafane came. We get news when we have to go into town on supply runs."

"You haven't been affected then," said Donna. "Then there's got to be more people like you out there."

"And what are we supposed to do?," asked Wade.

"Well, see, it's the mobile network, it all gets controlled on this psychic field on these satellites. The Archangel Network."

"Then why don't they just blow them up?," asked Wade.

"They're too afraid," said Donna.

Wade looked around the circle. "We're not."

* * *

><p>It was a strange turn of events that found Donna sobbing in a storm drainage ditch near what had formerly been a highway.<p>

Though, in retrospect, she wondered why she hadn't seen it coming.

Great idea, Donna. Just wizard. Why don't we blow up the cell towers? No! Don't worry about the Toclafane, tiny little Death Stars that will just ignore you while you try to thwart their Master's diabolical plan!

They were gone. One by one, Donna was forced to lay silently and watch them all die. It was all she could do to try and go unnoticed.

They were all gone. They weren't the first to die because Donna Noble had a great idea. No, that would be everyone she ever knew in the neighborhood she grew up in when the Master razed Chiswick and taunted her over his megaphone in the sky. She had the sick, twisted feeling that they wouldn't be the last.

Why couldn't she have been smarter? She should have done her A levels, gone to university, done something useful.

Why didn't the Doctor know that? Why didn't he know that she was incapable of doing anything of real significance? She might have had a stroke of luck here and there, she could follow instructions... Not that Rose would have been much better, even if she had somehow managed to leave the Doctor's side. Captain Jack seemed to be useful. Too bad he couldn't come. Why couldn't the Doctor travel with anyone useful? How was he expecting a temp from the heap of cinders formerly known as Chiswick to save the world?

She cried until her eyes hurt and her throat hurt and she ran out of tears. She just heaved in a motion reminiscent of crying as she seriously considered the possibility of laying down and dying. Donna had never been one to give up in front of anyone. There was not a dare she had ever turned down, though she probably should have done so on a few occasions.

But she was alone and in the dark and far away from the only person who had ever had any confidence in her. And he...

What if something had happened to him?

"Oh, stop your moaning."

Donna's heart stopped. She looked up and didn't see anyone. It was that same voice again, the one that sounded like it was from the North. Probably a Manchester United supporter, just her luck.

"Whole future of the human race at stake and you want to have a lie down?"

Donna didn't know who she was talking to, but that had never stopped her before.

"I am tired," she said. "Okay? Tired."

"I know you're tired, but I also know if you stop now, you're going to miss the countdown."

"The countdown?," asked Donna.

"The Master's countdown to intergalactic war, all starting at Planet Earth. A year from two minutes after eight on the day you left."

Donna frowned. "When the Paradox Machine was set to go off?"

"Now you're getting it. Thought I was going to have to lay the whole thing out for you."

Donna closed her eyes, as if getting rid of the outside sensory input was going to help her think. "So, I'm walking the Earth, telling a story about the Doctor and two minutes after eight... what?"

"What do you think?"

"How the bloody hell do I know? I'm talking to myself in a ditch!"

"Fine. If you're going to be all testy, I'll give you a clue: the Archangel Network, linking every man, woman and child on Earth."

"And I'm telling them a story about the Doctor so they can all do something at two minutes past eight? What?"

"The only thing the Master can't stop them doing."

Donna shook her head. "Great. You want to talk in riddles. I'm going insane and talking in riddles."

"You're not going insane."

Donna scoffed. "Says the voice in my head. God, it's like I can't even hear myself... think." She dropped her hand from her face and opened her eye. "Thinking. He can't stop them thinking."

Though she had never seen who had spoken, Donna had the sudden feeling that she was alone again.

Donna stood up. She walked further down the ditch to find the fancy designer knapsack with dirt and stains she was afraid were dried blood. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she put it over her shoulders.

Walk the Earth.

Tell a story.

At some point, hopefully at three minutes past eight a little less than a year from now, slap the Master hard across the face.

* * *

><p>On the deck of the Valiant, the Master fumed.<p>

"She's still not caught!," he screamed. "How can she not be caught with that hair?!"

The Toclafane spheres hovered almost nervously if one could ascribe emotions to them. Lucy stood behind the Master trying not to attract attention.

The full complement of the Master's staff stood at attention. Gwen and Ianto exchanged looks. Nerys was also at attention. Rose watched it all, wondering how Donna could have gone undetected this long.

The Master again turned his attention to the Doctor huddled in the corner of the deck.

"Everyone out!," shouted the Master.

They all scurried.

"Except you, Rose Tyler," said the Master. "I think I want you to see this."

Rose froze as the Master walked towards the Doctor.

"What did you say to her?," asked the Master.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: <strong>The Dog Days (Probably Thursday.) _


	39. The Dog Days

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry I was late. I worked, ran six miles and my dog got spayed yesterday, so I was probably being overly ambitious. Thanks for the reads and reviews. Let me know what you think and happy reading.

* * *

><p>Martha drove quietly. Geoffrey sat in the passenger seat. Neither said a word as they drove further into the night.<p>

"You don't have to do this," said Martha.

Geoffrey didn't say anything.

They didn't speak.

The car stopped. Geoffrey got out. Martha waited a moment, then got out of the car after him.

"Geoff! Don't do this!"

Geoffrey stopped and turned.

"You know what's going to happen," said Martha. "Donna wouldn't want this."

"You know what's going to happen to me if I don't do this." He sighed. "Take care of my family, Martha."

Geoffrey started walking away. Hearing the Toclafane coming, Martha got back in the car.

* * *

><p>Donna Noble had never meant to go to Japan.<p>

It wasn't personal, it just didn't sound like any fun. That was proving to be the case in this scenario. She had thought if she were going to go to Asia, she might try the beach in Thailand. Or Hong Kong. Loads of shopping, sort of designer handbags for cheap, English speakers.

That had been her first problem upon arriving in Japan. No language skills. She found a girl, Ayako, to help her. She was around sixteen and a world away from the last bloody teenager Donna had become acquainted with. She was fascinated with American and British entertainment, so at least she and Donna had things to talk about. She had been top of her class before the Master had come and lost her parents in the decimation. She had been on her own since. She had helped Donna since she arrived and now they were in Hokkaido, at the end of the island.

The thing was, the Master just wasn't bothering much with Japan. Ayako explained that it just didn't have what he needed for his shipyards. It was small, it didn't have great resources and they weren't making any efforts to fight the Master. Outside of the initial decimation and the flattening of American military installations, the nation had not heard much from their ruler.

"We've covered nearly everywhere," said Ayako, looking at a map. "Next, we'll have to get a boat to go abroad. Russia's just four miles away."

"Then we'll have to do that," said Donna.

"Yes," said Ayako.

Donna sat down on a nearby bench. She looked across to see a temple. Three women in robes were going in.

"Big do?," Donna asked Ayako.

"Looks like a wedding."

"A wedding," said Donna. She smiled, remembering how it all began. Reflecting on it now, that was a fairly good day. What she wouldn't give to go back to that day. She'd get it right this time. She would run off with that skinny alien first chance and toss the blonde off the TARDIS before she knew what hit her. "I had a wedding once." She turned to Ayako. "Let's go in."

* * *

><p>Gwen Cooper sighed quietly as she prepared the Master's tray and another Scissor Sisters song came on over the Valient's public address system.<p>

"If I ever get out of here, I'm going to shoot them in the head," she said quietly.

"I think the Master may have beaten you to that," Ianto said quietly.

There was a thud, the sound of a plane landing.

Ianto looked at Gwen. "Someone's arriving."

"Who do you think?," Gwen whispered back.

"I hope it's not Donna."

The Master came over the loudspeaker. "All hands on deck for a Christmas announcement!"

Gwen looked at Ianto in surprise. "Is it Christmas?"

* * *

><p>Martha arrived back at the island and got off the boat. She hurried inside as the boat went off. She hurried back into the subterranean level that contained the island's living quarters.<p>

This had been the place Jack Harkness had directed her to take the Nobles if everything went wrong. The staff there told her it was a place for victims of experiments gone wrong, but she wondered if that was the case. There was a man there that could scream for hours on end, make your fillings ring. She walked inside after giving the nurse the password to find Sylvia Noble waiting for her.

"Where is he?"

Martha didn't know how to answer. "I'm sorry, Sylvia."

"Where did you take my husband?!"

The computer nearby began to beep. They looked over to see that there was an incoming message from the Archangel Network.

Martha sighed. "I'm sorry, Sylvia."

* * *

><p>It was a pretty good wedding for the end of the world. Good nibbles, sake. Donna got the chance to tell lots of people about the Doctor with Ayako's help and some introductions.<p>

The music at the reception stopped. The telly in the room began beeping. Archangel Network.

Ayako looked at Donna. "What's happening?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "The Master is speaking."

* * *

><p>The Doctor watched as Geoffrey Noble was brought on the deck of the Valiant.<p>

"Geoffrey!," he exclaimed. It felt strange to speak. It had been so long.

"Doctor?," Geoffrey asked, frowning. "Is that really you?"

"Yes."

"Where is she? Where's Donna?"

The Doctor shook his head. He would have expounded further but the Master came in followed by Lucy wearing of all things a Santa Hat.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!," he shouted. He looked at the camera. "People of the Earth, here at the festive season, I'd like to bring together a family reunion! Here I have Geoffrey Noble! Father of the woman who continues to walk the Earth somehow unnoticed! How can you not notice that hair?! Are you people just incredibly stupid?!"

They trembled from the sound of hatred in the Master's voice.

"So, basically, Donna Noble, turn yourself in now and maybe I won't kill your father slowly while the entire Earth watches."

* * *

><p>The entire wedding reception was looking at Donna in a mix of shock and sadness and pity. Donna felt sick.<p>

She ran towards the screen. There had to be some way to get the Master to answer her. Ayako shouted something and two of the men grabbed her. Others helped in pulling her away.

"What are you doing?!," Donna shouted back.

"You can't turn yourself in! You're the only one who can stop him!," she responded.

"It's my Dad!," Donna shouted.

Ayako shook her head and shouted something else and found about six people dragging her away from the screen.

The Doctor stepped up. "Master, don't do this. This man hasn't done anything to you."

"Oh, the Doctor, always trying to heal," said the Master. "Heal this!"

He pointed the laser screwdriver at Geoffrey and the man fell to the ground and writhed. The Doctor got over as best he could.

The Master looked back at the camera. "A few more of those might kill him," he smiled.

* * *

><p>The partygoers had locked Donna in a cupboard. She banged on the door.<p>

"You can't turn yourself in," said the voice from the North.

Donna hook her head. "Not you. Not now."

"Donna, listen to me-"

"Shut up!," shouted Donna. "This is my dad! It's not his fight!"

"You're his daughter. Not a father yet who wouldn't do anything for his little girl."

Donna beat the door. "This can't happen!"

Geoffrey's screams grew loud enough for Donna to hear them from inside the cupboard. Donna sobbed and put her head against the door.

* * *

><p>"Hmm," the Master said to the camera. "Somehow that doesn't seem to be motivating Donna. That puts a damper on the holidays."<p>

The Doctor looked at Geoffrey. He was out of it, barely holding on.

"It's alright," said Geoffrey. "I'm dying anyway."

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"Donna..." said Geoffrey.

"Oh, what was that, Geoff?," asked the Master. "Can't quite hear you? Was that Donna? Donna! Oh, Donna! Your dad's calling for you!"

Everyone on the Valiant stood frozen. Nerys had begun to cry.

Geoffrey finally closed his eyes. He had finally had enough. The Doctor could only watch, unable to help.

"Oh, left the party already! And we were having so much fun!," said the Master. "Still, I have a surprise. See, I do know Donna Noble was last seen in Japan, so, I'm going to burn it! That's festive!"

* * *

><p>"You need to get out of here," said the voice from the North.<p>

"My dad is dead."

"Donna, trust me. You need to get out of here, right now!"

"Leave me alone!," Donna shouted.

The cupboard door opened. It was Ayako and yet another group of men. She shouted orders at them in Japanese and they grabbed Donna, pulling her out.

"You have to get out of Japan right now!," said the voice from the North. "He's going to burn Japan! You have to get out of here! You have to survive this. It's what your dad would have wanted."

Before Donna knew it, she was outside again. The Toclafane were in the skies, shooting at people indiscriminately as they ran. Other missiles were dropping from the sky and taking out buildings.

The men dragged Donna out, they were taking her towards the sea.

* * *

><p>"How many people dead because of you, Doctor?," asked the Master.<p>

"You killed them," said the Doctor.

"What did you say to her?," asked the Master.

The Doctor didn't answer.

"What did you say to her?!"

Getting no reply yet again, the Master walked over to the line of servants and grabbed Rose. He threw her to the ground and pointed the laser screwdriver at her.

"Time was she could absorb the Time Vortex and you have turned her into a sniveling, whiny brat," said the Master. "Tell me what you said to her or she dies."

The Doctor didn't answer. Rose looked up at him incredulously.

"Doctor, tell him," said Rose.

"Yes, Doctor, tell me," said the Master in a mocking falsetto voice. "Tell me or Rose will have to accept that you don't really love her! That all you really care about is that ginger cow!"

The Doctor shot the Master a glare.

"Oh!," said the Master. "That got a rise out of the old man, didn't it?"

"Doctor, please," said Rose.

The Master pointed the laser screwdriver at Rose again.

"I'm sorry, Rose," said the Doctor. "I'm so sorry."

"No," Rose sobbed. "She doesn't care about you. I love you."

"I'm sorry, Rose."

Rose winced as she felt the laser screwdriver against her head.

"On second thought..." said the Master, "...it is so much more fun to watch you suffer. And you are suffering, Rose. At least you know where you stand."

Rose stared at the Doctor, wondering where it had all gone wrong.

"Come on!," shouted the Master. "Christmas fireworks! Japan is burning."

* * *

><p>Donna was on a boat, sitting across from Ayako.<p>

"He would have killed you," said Ayako.

"He was my dad!," said Donna.

"You have to survive."

"I really wish people would stop telling me that," said Donna. "Survive? For what?!"

Ayako didn't answer that. "It's not long to Russia."

Donna looked back. Japan was burning, the boat was going fast putting miles between them and the screams. Suddenly, Toclafane whizzed past them.

"Oh, no," said Donna.

They started shooting at the crew.

Were they laughing?

Before Donna knew what to think, she looked over to Ayako and saw she was laying on the deck, lifeless eyes still open. Donna crawled next to her as the Toclafane whizzed away.

"I'm sorry," said Donna.

Donna felt water beneath her fingers. She looked down and realized there was a fairly large sized hole in the boat. She looked out ahead and could see a strip of land in the distance. The Toclafane were flying back.

Donna spotted an oxygen tank with scuba apparatus on the deck. She grabbed it and strapped it on, before she dove over the side and swam away.

* * *

><p>On the deck of the Valiant, the Master forced them to watch. Japan burned. Ships sank and so many Toclafane whirled about they could be seen like a flock from the Valiant.<p>

"Last boat," the Master said to the Doctor. "Your precious Donna Noble should be at the bottom of the sea."

* * *

><p>Donna pulled herself out of the water and tossed aside the scuba gear.<p>

She was so sore. Sore did not begin to describe how she felt. She dragged herself onto the shore and collapsed in the sand. She felt around her neck relieved that the TARDIS key was still there.

"What have I told you about having a lie down?"

Donna opened her eyes. She looked across to see a man with big ears, clad in a leather jacket and jumper.

"You look like someone," said Donna.

"You really shouldn't lie down."

"Yeah," said Donna. "I only walked half the Earth. Whole other half left."

"Well, not quite, but yes and you just swam in an icy cold ocean. Lucky for you the Master changed all the weather patterns, but you're still going to have pneumonia if you don't get somewhere warm."

Donna dragged herself up and started walking. The man walked with her.

"I'm going insane now, right?," asked Donna.

"Not in the least."

"Why is that not a relief?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: <strong>The Dark Before the Dawn (With a special guest star. Probably Saturday.) _


	40. The Dark Before the Dawn

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry about the delay, it's been a rough couple of days. Thank you for the reads and reviews and follow. I really love getting them. Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

><p>After her disastrous wedding, Donna had gone on one adventure. To Egypt. To see the pyramids. She imagined herself walking barefoot through the desert, wind blowing her dress like Lawrence of Arabia, breathing in the ancient and the majestic.<p>

What she had gotten was a noisy, tourist-ridden landscape. Queuing for hours to take some photos and buy rubbish souvenirs that were quickly forgotten by the people she gave them to. Warnings from the tour guide about the food, the water and going out alone.

Now by an increasingly strange chain of events, she was back in Egypt, staring at the frozen Nile. The Master's idea. She couldn't wrap her head around why he had done it but since when did madmen need reasons?

"You have to start heading home," said the voice from the North.

Donna looked over her shoulder. She could see him today. It came and went. It was not helping with her assessment of her mental state.

"I know," said Donna. "Next stop, Haifa. Then Europe, wherever I end up. Walk some more across Europe and then two minutes after eight..."

She looked up. He was gone again. Donna stood and picked her knapsack up off the frosted reeds and as she had so many times before began walking.

She made her way to walk along the sea, where she could see the Master's frigates hauling materials for his war with the universe. She had seen fields of rockets in Russia. The world was just becoming one giant armory.

It was unforgiving terrain. Donna was getting used to that. She really didn't want to be. Furthermore, she finally realized she was walking through what had once been known as the Gaza strip. It wasn't what she was expecting. No people, probably all shuttled off to work for the Master. The remains of people, what they had left behind. No war zone here.

* * *

><p>After another week of nights spent with stolen sleep in the desert- which wasn't easy since there were warnings about unexploded land mines everywhere- Donna finally arrived at Haifa.<p>

She had a contact there given to her by the last resistance member she met in Casablanca, a Mossad agent forced underground, where he now worked for the resistance. He gave Donna lunch and sent her to sleep. She would have the room to herself until everyone came back from the day's labor.

She napped and then awoke alone. She went through the contents of her knapsack once again. The CD she had acquired was still there.

Donna looked up across from her to see a young woman with porcelain skin. Very leggy. She could have been a model in another life.

"Is it true?," she asked in a Scottish accent. "Are you really Donna Noble?"

Donna shrugged. "As true as it's ever been."

The woman edged closer. She took her hat off revealing a head of bright red hair. "Do you really know the Doctor?"

"Yes," said Donna.

"Pinstripe suit," said the woman. "Lives in a blue wooden police box. There's a swimming pool in it."

Donna frowned. "Yes. Oddly enough."

"The box, it makes this weird sound..." she said. "Like really rubbish brakes."

"Yes," said Donna.

The young woman grinned. "Oh, my God. It's true. You really know him."

Donna stood up. "And so do you?"

"And I should have known you by the sound of your voice," she said, smiling. She stuck out her hand. "Amy Pond."

They walked out to the balcony overlooking the harbor.

"I was seven," said Amy. "This box fell out of the sky and into my garden. The Doctor got out, said he would be back in five minutes."

Donna scoffed. "He says things like that a lot."

"How do you know him?," asked Amy.

"He kidnapped me from my wedding," said Donna.

Amy smiled. "You're his wife."

Donna shook her head. "I didn't say that-"

"Oh, come on. I've listened to the two of you argue. You're his wife." She took a breath. "Anyway, my family just thought I had an imaginary friend. Four psychiatrists."

"What are you doing here?," asked Donna.

"I was on my gap year," said Amy. "Met an Israeli guy in Barcelona, followed him here and this is where I was when the Master came. Then I started hearing about this ginger woman, walking the Earth, telling stories about the Doctor. I was a little confused."

"Sorry," said Donna.

"Yeah, I've had to wear a hat. Plenty of people have thought I was you. I have a hard enough time with people who think I'm me." She paused. "So, how did you really meet him?"

"I told you. He kidnapped me from my wedding," said Donna. "Then you know, there was this idiot blonde."

"Always a blonde," said Amy with a grimace.

"Yeah, this one's a piece of work," said Donna.

Amy waited. "They say you have a way to kill the Master."

Donna shrugged.

"I want to come with you."

Donna sighed. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen. Almost nineteen."

"Everywhere I go it's teenagers and really old men. Is no one else in their thirties anymore?"

"I can help. Really. I can. I know I can."

"It would be safer for you here."

"You really think there's anywhere safe?," asked Amy. She looked back out at the sea. "Besides, it's for the Doctor, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Donna.

"And he's worth it, right?"

Donna looked back at the sea, pondering the last leg of her journey.

"Yeah," said Donna. "He's worth it."

* * *

><p>They took a tiny, ramshackle boat to Europe. Donna was beyond amazed when they arrived in Greece. From there it was a hike through the ruins of the ruins of Ancient Greece. The Master had started his radiation pits in the shadow of the Parthenon. It was more hard, long hikes and sleepless nights crossing what was left of Europe. There were new statues of the Master everywhere.<p>

"So," said Amy, "I must be in your future."

"What?," asked Donna. They were crossing somewhere through the Alps, hopefully into France. Donna had managed to break the compass she had acquired somewhere in the Philippines.

"I've been thinking, you didn't know me, but I knew you-"

"You said you heard me," said Donna. "What if it just sounded like me?"

"Well, he said you were ginger."

Donna groaned. "Okay, this is too much."

"What?"

"You're dropping hints about my future and right now, I don't have a future. I can't have a future. I have one appointment in thirty-seven days at two minutes past eight."

"And after that?," asked Amy. "What happens then?"

"I don't know," said Donna. "I'm really not sure."

Amy frowned. "If you don't have a plan-"

"I've got a plan, alright? I'm a little shaky on the details, but I'm told it's fantastic."

Donna started walking again. Amy followed.

"Any chance you can let the rest of us in on the grand plan?," asked Amy.

"Well," said Donna, "there is one part of the plan I'll let you in on."

"And?"

"I have to get aboard the Valiant."

"Are you kidding me?!," said Amy. "You must be joking! Are you completely insane?!"

"Yes, actually, I am insane and my imaginary friend has left me!"

"He'll kill you, Donna. He has been doing nothing but try to kill you for almost a year-"

"You don't think I know that?," asked Donna. "Besides, you're in m future or something. I should be fine."

"Have you seen Back to the Future?!"

Donna groaned. "Yes, I'm aware of the wibbly wobbly timey wimey concept! God! I don't have a choice! If I did, I wouldn't be here!"

They didn't speak for a while.

Amy finally spoke. "The only way you get on the Valiant is if he lets you on. He thinks you'll kill him. Why is he going to let you on?"

Donna glanced back at Amy. "Because he won't let it happen like that. He'll want to make the Doctor suffer."

They walked a bit and Amy once again broke the silence.

"Then he's got to know you're coming."

* * *

><p>The Master walked into the Paris tenement eagerly awaiting to be reunited with a mouthy ginger.<p>

He found the wrong one as he walked onto the street. His guards were holding her.

"Who are you?," he asked in a mixture of disgust and confusion.

"Amy Pond."

"They told me you were Donna Noble."

"Yeah, that seems to happen a lot. Could have something to do with us both having a mutual acquaintance, the Doctor."

"The Doctor?," the Master asked quietly.

"Yeah, that's right! The Doctor!," Amy shouted. "And I've got a message for you!"

The crowd peered out the tenement windows, hanging on every word.

"And what is that message?," sneered the Master.

"Donna Noble is coming back," said Amy.

Amy was the only one close enough to see the fear in the Master's eyes. She smiled.

"Yeah, thought you might say that."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: <strong>The Last of the Time Lords _


	41. Last of the Time Lords, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who! And we're back! Holidays are over, this story is back on track. Sorry, this story at Christmas was a little much for me and I was really busy. So, thank you for the reads and reviews. I appreciate it and thank you for your patience. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The Channel was choppy. That was alright, Donna had grown accustomed to being uncomfortable. There had been heat, freezing cold, humid beyond belief, so dry she would have killed for a swamp. This choppy sea and the ramshackle boat was taking her home.<p>

"Ever see when they crossed the Channel on Top Gear?," Donna asked the captain. "They did it with a Toyota pickup and a speed boat engine."

The captain turned to look at her with a glare. It may have been the end of the world, but he was still French.

"It was just really funny, that's all," said Donna.

She turned back to the sea.

"No one's in the mood for jokes," said the voice from the North.

Donna turned, expecting to see him, but not. "And where the hell have you been?"

"I'm always here."

"Oh, now you're Mufasa? Or was that Darth Vader? Doesn't matter, they're both James Earl Jones. Is that it?"

"Worst things to be. Besides, I think you meant Obi Wan Kenobi the second time. Anyway, not much longer. You know what you have to do."

"So I've heard," said Donna.

"Do you know what I told you?"

"What? When?"

"Onboard the Valiant. Do you know what I told you?"

Donna suddenly had the image of the Doctor flash in her mind, gripping her wrist and whispering.

"You're not him. You're not-"

"Think again."

A lantern broke through the fog.

"That's it," the boat captain said quickly. Donna thought he was probably eager to have a blabbering Englishwoman off his ship.

"Yeah. Thanks."

The other mate helped her over the edge and Donna felt the water in her boots as she ran towards the shore, where she saw a familiar face.

"Martha!," said Donna.

"You remember me then?," asked Martha.

"Of course I do!," said Donna. "Where's my family? Are they alright?"

Martha froze. "Let's talk in the car. It's not safe to stand out here too long."

They had driven a fair bit when Martha finally spoke.

"Your mum and grandfather are in a safe house in London. Well, not safe exactly, slave quarters really, nothing's safe these days, but they're hidden."

"Right." Donna couldn't help but feel the absence of her father from that.

"Donna, you need to know something about your dad."

"That's okay," said Donna.

"He turned himself in," said Martha.

"What?" Donna was in disbelief.

"He was dying, Donna. Before the Master came. He found out he had Pancreatic Cancer. It's about as bad as it can get. The five-year survival rate is around five percent and that's with the proper treatment, which obviously, he wasn't going to get."

"Why didn't he say?," asked Donna.

"He was waiting until after the family got back from Dorset," said Martha. "We got word that the Master was closing in on us. He offered himself up in the hopes of saving your mother and grandfather."

Donna shook her head. This was just too much to take.

"We could go to London first? See your family."

"No," said Donna. "We'll stick to the schedule."

Martha nodded. "Right then."

They drove a long way, barely exchanging another word, until they finally arrived at the silo where they needed to be.

* * *

><p>"Professor Docherty?," asked Martha.<p>

"Busy," said the older woman, huddled by a telly.

"They sent word ahead," said Martha. "I'm Martha Jones. This is Donna Noble."

"She can be Queen of Sheba for all I care. I'm still busy."

Donna nodded. "Nice to be wanted."

"Televisions don't work anymore," said Martha.

"Though let me know if you do get it working and there's anything good on," said Donna.

"Oh, God, I miss Countdown. Hasn't been the same since Des took over. Both Deses. What's the plural of Des? Desii? Deseen? But we've been told there's gonna be a transmission." She banged on the monitor. "From the man himself." She hit it again. "There it is."

Donna and Martha looked over as a grainy picture of the Master appeared.

"My people. Salutations on this the Eve of War, but I know there's all sorts of whispers down there. Whispers of a woman walking the Earth, giving you hope. Say hello, Gandalf." The camera panned over to the Doctor. "But I ask you, how much hope has this man got?"

Martha looked at Donna. "Is that really him?"

"Yes," Donna answered.

"Except he's not that old but he's an alien with a much greater lifespan than you stunted, little apes. What if it showed? What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate? All 900 years of your life, Doctor. What if we could see them?" He pointed the laser screwdriver at him. "Older and older and older..."

Donna held her hands over her mouth as the Doctor writhed and writhed.

"Down you go, Doctor," said the Master as the Doctor fell to the floor. "Doctor?"

A large head peered out.

"Oh, my God, he's Gollum," said Donna.

"Message received and understood, Miss Noble?," asked the Master.

Donna stood there for a moment.

"Are you alright, Donna?," asked Martha.

"Yeah," she said. "The Doctor's alive."

They sat down and started talking.

Docherty was lecturing them. "Obviously the Archangel Network would seem to be… the Master's greatest weakness. 15 satellites all around Earth, still transmitting. That's why there's so little resistance. It's broadcasting a telepathic signal that keeps people scared," said Docherty.

"Not in Texas," said Donna.

"Can't we just take them out?," asked Martha.

"Fifteen ground to air missiles? Got any on you?," asked Docherty. "Besides, any military action, the Toclafane descend."

"They're not called Toclafane," said Donna. "That's just a name the Master made up."

"Then what are they, then?," asked Docherty.

"That's why I came to find you. Know your enemy." She finally reached into her knapsack to pull out a compact disc. " No one's been able to look at a sphere close up. They can't even be damaged. Except once. The lightening strike in South Africa brought one of them down. Just by chance. I've got the readings on this."

Docherty took it and started to put it in an unresponsive computer. "Oh, who would have thought we'd miss Bill Gates?"

"Have you tried unplugging it and plugging it back in?," asked Donna.

Docherty turned to glare, then stopped and did just that.

"So, that's why you walked the Earth? To get a disc?," asked Martha.

"No," said Donna.

"I heard stories that you traveled the world to find a weapon that could kill the Master." Docherty looked back at the monitor. "There! A current of 58.5 kilo amperes transferred charge of 510 megajoules precisely."

"Can you recreate that?," asked Martha.

"I think so. Easily, yes," said Docherty.

"Then let's get a sphere," said Donna.

* * *

><p>It was night when Martha fired her gun into the air outside. It wasn't a minute later that the sphere came for her.<p>

"You ready?!," Martha shouted as she ran past the electric fence.

"You do your job! I'll do mine!," Docherty shouted.

"Now!," shouted Donna.

Professor Docherty switched on the electricity at precisely the moment the sphere came into contact with the fence. It shook and fell to the ground as the volts coursed through it.

"Now to see what's inside," said Docherty.

They were back in the lab when Docherty pried open the shell and revealed a head.

"Oh, my God," said Donna.

"It's alive," said Docherty.

"Noble. Donna Noble. Sweet, kind Donna Noble."

Donna scoffed. "You clearly don't know me that well. Where have we met?"

"You helped us to fly."

Donna shook her head. "No."

"You led us to salvation."

"No."

"The skies are made of diamonds."

Donna's stomach dropped. "Oh, my God."

"Donna?," asked Martha.

Donna shook her head. "No, no, you can't- I said it was an awful idea! A horrible idea!"

"We share memories," said the head in the sphere. "You sent us to Utopia."

"It wasn't my idea!," Donna shouted.

"What is he talking about?," asked Docherty.

"Donna, what are they? Tell us," Martha pleaded.

"They're us," Donna pronounced quietly. "The human race from the future."

"What?," Martha asked in disbelief.

Donna shook her head. "I sort of had half of it because the Doctor said the only place the Master could go was here or the end of the universe, so they didn't come from here... they had to have come from there." She faltered, having to grab a counter.

"Are you alright?," asked Docherty.

"Fine," said Donna. "It's just like I'm working out more of it."

Martha and Docherty exchanged troubled glances.

The voice from the North spoke again. "Furnaces, burning. The last of humanity screaming in the dark."

Donna shook her head. "It was the end of the universe, the Utopia Project was the last hope to escape it... A really rubbish hope, I have to say."

"As I've heard you say," the voice from the North added.

The sphere spoke. "There was no solution. No diamonds. Just the dark and the cold."

"I know, like I said," said Donna. "Maybe if someone wasn't so emotionally handicapped and projecting his own background onto someone else-"

"Projecting my own background? Where do you get that?," asked the voice from the North.

"I watch Oprah, don't I?," Donna snapped.

"Donna, who are you talking to?," asked Martha.

"Never mind," said Donna, perfectly aware she had once again appeared crazy. She wasn't convinced it wasn't more than appearing.

"They cannibalized themselves," said the voice from the North.

"Cannibalized themselves?," asked Donna.

"We made ourselves so pretty," said the sphere.

"Yeah, head in a tiny Death Star, that's just lovely," said Donna.

The sphere ignored her. She wondered if they had cut out feelings as well. "The universe was collapsing around us. But then the Master came with his wonderful time machine to bring us back home!"

"But that's a paradox," Professor Docherty began reasoning aloud. "If you're the future of the human race, and you've come back to murder your ancestors, you should cancel yourselves out. You shouldn't exist."

"Paradox machine," Donna finally realized. "That's what it's for."

"If you're us, though," said Martha, "why do you kill so many of us?"

"Because it's fun!," the sphere answered, laughing maniacally.

Before Donna knew it was happening, Martha had taken her sidearm back out and was shooting the head in the sphere. It puttered out what life it had left and its eyes stayed hauntingly open.

"Get rid of that, please," said Donna walking away.

* * *

><p>Donna went and sat. She was soon joined by Martha and Professor Docherty.<p>

"I think it's about time we had the truth, Miss Noble," said Professor Docherty. "The legend says you've travelled the world to find a way of killing the Master. Tell us, is it true?"

"Just before I escaped, the Doctor told me..." She shook her head, remembering what the Doctor told her. " Doctor and the Master, they've been coming to Earth for years. And they've been watched.

She took a case from her pack. "There's UNIT and Torchwood, all studying Time Lords in secret. And they made this. The ultimate defense." She opened the case to reveal a special gun.

"All you need to do is get close," said Martha. "I can shoot the Master dead with this."

"You can put that down now, thank you," said Docherty.

"It's not that easy," said Donna. "Time Lords can regenerate, literally bring themselves back to life."

"Oh, good, the Master's immortal," said Docherty. "Wonderful."

"There are four chemicals in this gun, combined, they kill a Time Lord dead," said Donna.

"I only count three," said Martha.

"I need your help to get the fourth," said Donna. "The components of this gun were kept safe, scattered across the world. And I found them. San Diego, Beijing, Budapest and the last is in London."

"Where?," asked Martha.

"Old UNIT base, I've got the access codes. You've got to get me there."

"We can't go across London in the dark," said Martha. "We'll go with the medical convoy in the morning."

"Then that's what we'll do," said Donna.

"You can spend the night here, if you like," said Docherty.

"No, we can get halfway," said Martha. "Thank you, Professor."

Donna gathered up her things and put her jacket back on.

"Donna, could you do it?," asked Docherty. "Could you actually kill him?"

Donna looked at Docherty squarely. "I've been wandering the Earth for a year. He burned down the place I grew up in and murdered everyone I know. He killed some very nice people whose only fault was not being brainwashed by him. He killed a nineteen year old girl because he didn't like hearing what she had to say. He killed my dad in front of the whole world and then burned a country just to get my attention. He's taken the man I love and turned him into a deformed hobbit or something. Look at the world. Yeah, I can kill him."

"You don't look like a killer to me," said Docherty.

Donna shrugged. "I suppose no one ever does."

Donna walked out, following Martha back to the truck.

"Are you alright?," asked Martha.

"Yeah," said Donna. She looked back through the window at Docherty. "Let's go. "


	42. Last of the Time Lords, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. As an aside, has anyone ever looked at something called the BBC Doctor Who scare Index? It was a thing with the first three series where they had some kids watch the episode and say how scary it was. The best part is with this set of episodes and the five-year old girl is totally distraught when the Master transforms the Doctor and this is her main area of concern. Anyway, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Rose stomped into her call aboard the Valiant with the guard locking the door behind her. Jack was through the far side.<p>

Gwen, Nerys and Ianto looked at each other. The torture of this year, perhaps more insidious than the treatment the Master gave them, was sharing a cell with Rose Tyler. Their plan to take back the Master hadn't worked that day, but she seemed unaffected as usual.

"The Doctor won't even speak to me," Rose muttered.

"Well, he turned into Gollum," said Ianto. "That probably puts you in a mood not to talk."

Rose ignored him. She always did. "The Master asked all about Donna again. I don't know why. She's a useless coward who left at the first chance."

Gwen and Ianto exchanged glances again. They knew that wasn't the case. Nerys helped herself onto the top bunk she had to share with Rose.

"He acts like the Doctor loves her, but he doesn't. He loves me."

"Oh, my God, would you shut the hell up?!," said Gwen.

Rose looked at her in shock.

"Nobody cares!," said Gwen. "Okay? Got it? Nobody cares about your stupid little schoolgirl crush on the Doctor? There are more important things like 'Is the Master going to kill us all?.' Is the Earth going to be destroyed when we go to war with the rest of the universe? For that matter, are my fiancé and parents already dead?"

"I didn't know you had a fiance," said Rose.

Nerys rolled her eyes.

"No! That's because you don't listen!," spat Gwen. "You don't listen to anything that doesn't confirm what you want to hear. Guess what? I don't think the Doctor loves you."

Rose shook her head. "You don't know anything. How can you possibly say that?"

"Because the Master hasn't laid a hand on you," said Ianto.

Rose looked at him in confusion.

Ianto cleared his throat. "He gets off on seeing people suffer. He's tried to hurt people close to Donna so the Doctor would react. He's tortured the Doctor in front of you so he could watch you react. There's not a big enough payoff torturing you."

"Yeah," said Nerys. "Just torturing us by putting you in here."

"Oh, shut up, Nerys!," said Rose.

* * *

><p>Donna followed Martha out of the truck and onto an abandoned street. She looked around as Martha knocked on the door of a house.<p>

"Hello? It's Martha."

The door opened. "Did you bring food?," asked the woman who answered.

"Couldn't get any. And I'm starving," said Martha as she ushered Donna in.

"We only have water," remarked the woman.

"Sorry," said Donna.

As Martha shut the door, Donna realized she had not gone unrecognized.

"Are you Donna Noble?," asked a boy.

"Yes."

"Can you do it? Can you kill him? They said you can kill the Master, can you? Tell us you can do it. Please tell us you can do it."

"Who is the Master?," asked another woman.

The people all began to speak at once. Donna was overwhelmed by the overlapping voices as she noticed her mother and grandfather making their way to the front of the pack.

"Mum!," Donna cried out, throwing her arms around Sylvia.

"Guys, let's just give them a minute, yeah?," said Martha.

"No," said Donna. "They have questions and I'm glad to answer them. I'm fine, really."

Donna sat on the stairs as her audience gathered round, crowding into every available nook and cranny.

"I've been around the world," said Donna. "I saw the ruins of New York. I saw the plains and deserts of America become missile fields. I could only watch as Japan burned. I walked the fusion mills of China. I walked the radiation pits of Europe. I've seen the Nile and Jerusalem and everywhere I went, there were people living just like you, huddled together like this. But if Donna Noble became a legend, that's wrong, because I'm not important. Well, that's not entirely true. I am the one who's been walking the Earth in a post-apocalyptic scenario that is so much worse than 28 Days Later-"

"28 Days Later?," asked Wilf.

"Yeah," said Donna. "You know, they leave London and find the army in the North and they've got the crazy commander."

"Sandra Bullock's not in it?," asked Wilf.

"Oh, shut up, Dad," said Sylvia.

"No, that's what I thought," said Donna. "I thought it was a sequel or something, but it's two totally different films."

The people looked around at each other.

"It's not a totally unreasonable mistake to make," said Donna. "Anyway, the man who asked me to come, he's called the Doctor. He's saved your life more times than you know-"

"He got you into this," spat Sylvia.

"Mum," Donna rolled her eyes.

"You could be married now if it wasn't for him!"

"Oh, my God! Lance was going to feed me to a giant spider empress! How many times must I explain this, Mum?!"

"A few more, madame."

"Anyway-"

"Don't change the subject on me!"

"This goes so much better without you," said Donna.

"Oh, am I inconveniencing you? Why don't I just pop out for a tea and a trip to the shops? Oh, wait, I can't because the Master is hunting me down and there are no shops!"

"End of the world and my mum still finds time to be melodramatic," Donna said, shaking her head.

"No, let's leave the dramatics to you," said Sylvia.

"Oh, because this is all about you!," Donna snapped.

"Donna Noble! Oh, Donna Noble!" The voice beckoned from outside and it was unmistakable.

The woman who had greeted them peered out the window. "It's him! It's the Master!"

"But he never walks the ground!"

"Our Lord and Master walks among us!"

Martha took out her gun and looked through the mail slot. "Hide her!," she ordered.

The others rushed Donna, hiding her in some old approximation of a coat.

"Now, now, Donna, what would your beloved Doctor do?"

Donna got up off the stairs.

Sylvia looked at Donna in terror. She looked to her grandfather. Wilf wasn't exactly enjoying this moment, but he looked as if he understood. Donna stood. Everyone in the tenement froze.

"Donna, no! No!," cried Sylvia. She grabbed Donna by the shoulders. "You don't have to do this! You've done enough for him!"

"Yeah," Donna said softly. "And I'd do more. He'd do more for me. It's okay, Mum. Really."

Wilf tightened his grasp on Sylvia. Now Martha stood sentry at the door.

"Don't do this, Donna," said Martha. "We can get out of here. We can find the other piece of the gun."

"I hardly know you," said Donna, "but the Doctor would say you're brilliant. I think that's about the size of it."

Donna stepped out onto the street. She looked up to see the Master, applauding.

"Oh, here she is! Donna Noble!"

Donna stepped closer.

"Ah!," said the Master. "Stop right there. Throw the bag."

Donna took the knapsack off and tossed it towards the Master. He took out his laser screwdriver and it dissolved.

"You owe me for that," said Donna. "Three hundred dollars U.S. at Bloomingdale's. Worth every penny. Not a scratch on it. Well, until now."

"You simple human," said the Master. "I think Rose may have been right about you."

"Did you just hear yourself?," asked Donna. "Taking advice from Rose Tyler. What the hell's been going on up there?"

"Don't fret, good companion, your work is done," said the Master, raising his laser screwdriver to her head.

Donna held her breath.

Behind her, she heard feet shuffling and heard Martha shouting as she fired her gun towards the Master. The Master took her out quickly, laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!," spat Donna. "She never did anything to you! She was training to be a doctor! She only wanted to help people! What the hell have you ever done except be a monumental pain in the arse and an insufferable blowhard?!"

He didn't respond, only serving to piss off Donna more. "I think when you die, the Doctor should witness it, yes? This new infatuation, strange as it is, he ought to see its end."

"I can think of a thing or two he ought to witness," said Donna.

The Master scowled at Donna and walked away as the guards came to get her.

* * *

><p>Donna entered the main deck of the Valiant. The Master had assembled a full audience. Lucy Saxon stood behind him, looking more than a little worse for wear. Jack was off to one side with guards. Rose, Ianto and Gwen were off to the other dressed in service uniforms.<p>

Then the Doctor. It was more heartbreaking in person. She looked at him, holding the bars of his gilded cage.

"Your teleport device," said the Master.

Donna took the vortex manipulator out of her jacket pocket. "Blimey, don't you think if I was going to leave, I would have done it already?" She tossed it at him, nearly hitting him in the head. "Oh, sorry."

The Master glowered. "Kneel."

"No, thanks, I'm fine."

"Kneel," said the Master.

Donna shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not going to kneel down just so I can be executed by a man with a Scissor Sisters obsession, which isn't even the tip of the iceberg with your issues."

The Master scowled. "Days of old, Doctor, you had companions that could absorb the Time Vortex." He cast a glance at Rose. "Even she's looking pretty pathetic now. This one is absolutely useless."

Donna rolled her eyes. "What? You think I haven't told that before? God, it's the story of my life, like a bloody Greek chorus. Hearing you say it doesn't have any effect on me. The real question is, if I'm so worthless, why did he send me?"

The Master shook his head. "For the gun."

"Oh, yes, the gun, the mysterious gun scattered in four parts all around the Earth? Who the hell would leave a gun in four parts all around the Earth?! In my experience, when you need to kill a Time Lord, you need to do it in a hurry."

"As if I would ask her to kill," said the Doctor.

"Not that I'm against the idea," said Donna. "Left to my own devices, I'm not against bashing your skull against something a few dozen times or so."

Jack smirked and glanced at the others.

"It doesn't matter!," spat the Master. "I've got you where I want you!"

"Do you, though?," asked Donna. "I mean, when he whispered in my ear, what do you suppose he told me? If it wasn't the gun, what was it?"

"I don't know. You have nice breasts?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Nice guess, but not it. Want to try again?"

"I'm not playing games with you."

"Neither am I," said Donna. "Come on. You know you're wondering. I bet it's just been killing you. What did the Doctor tell me?"

The Master frowned at her, his face twitching ever so slightly. Doubt was creeping into his eyes. Donna had him on his heels.

"Fine. What then?"

"His name."

The Master's face dropped. "He told you what?"

"You heard me, Koschei."

There was silence. The air was thick with tension as the audience of observers tried to decipher what was going on.

"I am the Master."

Donna shook her head. "You're a scared little boy. You're scared now. I can see it."

"I've told her everything, Master," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, made me think I had turned into Russell Crowe in the film where he plays the maths guy. Thanks for that, but, you know, whatever," said Donna. "Now, knowing that, want to know what I did while I was walking the Earth?"

Donna didn't wait for him to answer.

"I told a story. About the Doctor. I told the people, wherever they were and I told them to tell everyone they knew so it spread."

"Faith and hope?" The Master looked back at the Doctor in his cage. "Is that the best your mate can come up with?"

"Mate?!," Rose spat out of reflex. Gwen, also out of reflex, elbowed her in the ribs.

"Enough, blondie!," spat the Master.

"We gave them an instruction," said Donna. "To think of one word, one thought, at the same moment, every human being on Earth-"

"Nothing will happen! Is that your weapon? Prayer?!" The Master laughed.

"Linked by fifteen satellites!," Donna added.

"What?"

"The Archangel Network," said Jack with a smile creeping back.

"Had you forgotten all about your little psychic friends' network?," asked Donna. "Do you want to know what that thought was?"

The Master looked stricken as Donna leaned in and whispered to him.

"Doctor," she said.

A light began to glow in the cage. Donna started the incantation on the deck. Soon, they were all saying "Doctor." Even Lucy Saxon. The screens at the Valiant's controls showed people all around the world saying it. The cage disappeared and the Doctor appeared floating with energy.

"I think that would be human psychic energy functioning as regenerative energy," said Donna. "Or you know, something, but I'm useless."

The people on the deck of the Valiant joined in chanting "Doctor."

The Master began shouting frantically. "Stop it right now! Stop it!"

The Doctor's energy field broke through the cage. He was reversing, now appearing as an old man. "I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices."

"I order you to stop!"

The Doctor returned to his normal self. "The one thing you can't do: stop them thinking."

The Master watched in shock.

"Tell me the human race is degenerate when they can do this," said the Doctor floating down."

"No!," shouted the Master firing his laser at him, as the chanting continued.

The shots from the laser just bounced off. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Then I'll kill her!," the Master shouted, pointing the laser at Donna.

The Doctor moved his hand and it appeared the laser was swiped away.

"You can't do this! It's not fair!," said the Master.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yes, we all feel so bad for you."

"And you know what happens now," said the Doctor arriving at the floor.

"No, no, no," the Master repeated.

"Because you know what I'm going to say."

"No!"

The Doctor walked over to the whimpering Master. "I forgive you."

"My children!"

The spheres began shouting. "Protect the paradox! Protect the paradox!"

"Captain! The paradox machine!," shouted the Doctor.

"Men! With me!," shouted Jack.

The Master pulled out the Vortex Manipulator. The Doctor caught sight of him and rushed over.

"No!," he shouted just as they disappeared.

Donna threw her arms up. "Yeah, nice to see you, too."

Ianto looked at the window and hurried to the controls. Gwen followed. "All six billion spheres are heading for us!"

"What did he mean mate?," Rose shouted at Donna.

"Yeah, because that's what's important right now," said Donna.

Just as they were about to reach the ship, the spheres disappeared. The ship rocked and Donna found herself propelled backwards into the arms of someone she couldn't see, but had managed to grab her breast in the process.

"Seriously?," asked Donna.

"Yeah, sorry," said the Doctor.

"You say that, but your hand's not moving."

"Well, I'm not that sorry. Everyone down! Time is reversing!"

The Doctor helped Donna to the floor as the ship rocked backwards. The ship finally stopped and the Doctor leapt up as he helped Donna to her feet.

"The paradox is broken. We've reverted back. One year. Two minutes past eight in the morning." The Doctor flipped on the communications.

"What happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!," shouted a voice.

"You see? Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was," said the Doctor.

"Everyone's back?," asked Gwen. "Just like that?"

"My dad?," asked Donna.

The Doctor looked at Donna. "He's fine."

"What about the spheres?," asked Ianto.

"Trapped at the end of the universe."

"But I remember it," said Nerys.

"We're at the eye of the storm. The only ones who will ever know," said the Doctor.

Nerys frowned. "Aren't people going to want to know why the French President is dead?"

Before the Doctor could answer, the Master started running out, only to be caught by Jack in the doorway. "Whoa, big fella! Cuffs!" He slapped them on the Master and looked to the Doctor. "What do we do with him?"

"Sorry," said Donna. "Hold that thought." She turned to the Doctor, grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and brought his mouth to hers.

"Blech," said the Master.

"Doctor!," shouted Rose.

The Doctor broke off the kiss for a moment. "Yeah, sorry, what?"

"What are you doing?," shrieked Rose.

"Uh, hold on," said the Doctor, turning his attention back to the very impatiently waiting Donna. He kissed her, pressing her back against the conference table.

Donna broke off the kiss again. "Next time I say to get back in the box-"

"Donna, trust me, when I get you back in the box, we may never leave again." He put his lips back on hers, resuming the kiss.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?!," Rose shouted. She looked at the Master. "What did you do to him?!"

The Master rolled his eyes. "They're married, you moron."

"What?"

The Master glared at Rose, wondering why he had spared her. "Unlike your species, who will just engage in coitus with anyone who smiles at them, when a Time Lord tells his intended his name, they're joined for life. I've never understood it myself."

"Oh, there's a surprise," said Donna.

"Are you stopping just to insult him?," asked the Doctor.

"Yes," said Donna, returning to snog the Doctor.

"Do you two want a room or something?," asked Ianto.

"No, I think this works," said Jack.

"Can someone just gouge my eyes out?," asked the Master. "Somebody must be angry enough at me and I don't want to watch this."

"Yeah, just let me find something sharp, like a spoon," said Gwen, looking around.

It was about then they all noticed Rose, pointing a gun at the Master.

"Take it back," said Rose.

The Doctor and Donna finally stopped to see what the others had noticed.

"Rose, what are you doing?," asked the Doctor.

"Did your brain get damaged when you absorbed the Time Vortex?," asked the Master.

Before the Doctor could get to Rose, the gun went off and the Master fell to the floor. He rushed over, catching the Master as Gwen took the gun off Rose.

"All those people," said Rose. "What he did to the Doctor. All that time. Look at Lucy. He doesn't deserve to live."

"You don't get to decide that," said Donna.

"Always the women," said the Master. "And you've got them in spades."

"I didn't see her," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, I know," said the Master. "Dying in your arms. Happy now?"

"You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."

"No."

"One little bullet. Come on."

"Guess you don't know me so well. I refuse."

"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please! Please! Just regenerate! Come on!," begged the Doctor.

Donna walked over closer to the Doctor.

"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned watching you two?"

"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons? Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only two left, there's no one else. Regenerate!"

"How about that? I win. Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?" The Master died with a smile on his face.

The Doctor began to weep as he held the Master. The Doctor cried out in despair and Donna nudged him away and into her arms as he cried into her bosom.

"It's alright, sweetheart," said Donna as he sobbed. "It's alright."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: <strong>The Last of the Time Lords, Part Three_


	43. Last of the Time Lords, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I really appreciate them. So, I don't know about the long term future of this story about which there have been questions, but I do have some short term, so you can look forward to that. Sorry this wasn't out Sunday, I've had the allergies from hell. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>Donna had the opportunity to smell the odor of burning flesh in The Year That Never Was. I was awful. Like barbeque gone rotten. It stayed with you.<p>

She wasn't about to let the Doctor do this alone, but he insisted upon having no help. It was his and his alone. So, she was forced to stand idly by while he built a funeral pyre for his childhood companion and then as he dragged the Master's body on top of it and took a torch to it.

Once he finally tossed the torch in with the rest of the flames, she finally approached him and took his hand.

"It was just the two of us," said the Doctor. He wanted to explain, she could tell. He wanted to have some high-minded reason about why he felt this way, but he didn't. It came down to that. He was cut off from his people and the Master, for better or worse, had been the only one left.

"I know," said Donna, squeezing his hand.

They waited for him to become ashes. It took a long time to burn a body and they barely spoke ten words, which had to be some kind of a record between the two of them. They headed back to the TARDIS and then the next stop was Cardiff.

Jack and Ianto were waiting. Gwen had gone home to see her fiance. The other members of the Torchwood team, Toshiko and Owen, had returned from the Himalayan adventure more confused than anything and were still questioning their compatriots about what the hell had exactly happened.

The Doctor descended the stairs alone. He found cells with several of the creatures that were called Weevils and at the end of the dark corridor was Rose.

"Doctor!," she leapt up and hurried to the glass.

She was confused as the Doctor didn't respond.

"Doctor, aren't you going to get me out of here?"

"No, Rose, I'm sorry. UNIT wanted you, this was the deal Jack made. You're under his supervision."

Rose shook her head. "No, that's not right."

"You killed someone, Rose."

"He killed more people. He would have killed you. I watched what he did to you-"

"When did I ever lead you to think I wanted you to kill for me? When, Rose? Seriously, because I don't remember it."

"I-" Rose interrupted herself. She couldn't finish that sentence. "I told you I loved you. You love me."

"No, Rose, I don't."

"Yes, you do-"

"No," the Doctor said sternly. "I'm sorry if you misinterpreted our friendship."

"It wasn't just friendship!," Rose screeched.

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rose. That's all I can offer you."

Rose crossed her arms. "I don't want friendship."

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

><p>Donna went back to the TARDIS and picked up the phone, quite surprised that the number she wanted was already pulled up.<p>

"Hello?," answered a Scottish woman.

"Hi, is this Amy?," asked Donna.

There was a pause. "Donna?"

"Yeah."

"How did you find me? I mean, I'm not at home. In fact, no one knows where I am."

"The TARDIS did," said Donna.

"I just had a really weird dream," said Amy. "That guy who was elected Prime Minister, he like had tiny Death Stars everywhere and put statues up and played Scissor Sisters every morning."

"Yeah, that wasn't really a dream..." said Donna.

"Okay..." said Amy.

"It wasn't real, either," said Donna. "So best not to worry about it."

"Okay, then, that's not at all clouded in mystery," said Amy. "This tour of the universe, any idea when that's going to start? Because it's been about twelve years now."

"Yeah, sorry, I've got a few things to do in the mean time," said Donna.

"I bet you do," said Amy. "Okay, well, try not to be too long. I'm waiting."

Donna hung up as the Doctor came back in.

"How did it go?," asked Donna.

"About as you would expect."

"I'm sorry," said Donna.

The Doctor nodded and walked to the controls. "Well, time to get you home."

"Oh, my mum is going to be livid."

The Doctor smiled. "And that's different in what way?"

"Oi, you can't talk about my mum. Just married and already you're at odds with my mother."

"We've been married a year. Now, on Gallifrey, we would still be on our honeymoon, but here-"

"What honeymoon?," asked Donna. "All I did was walk the Earth and you were in a cage. Don't know what sort of honeymoon you think that was!"

"Well-"

"Rubbish. That's what it was."

"Fine. Luxury honeymoon, coming your way."

"My dad's dying," said Donna.

The Doctor looked up.

"Martha said he was dying when he turned himself in. He was trying to save my mum and granddad. Pancreatic Cancer."

"I thought it was something like that," said the Doctor.

"He's going to die."

"I'm sorry, Donna. There's nothing I can do. The time lines say Geoffrey Noble dies-"

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why? Why do they say that? You're supposed to be a bloody Time Lord. Change them."

"I can't decide who lives and dies, Donna. Would you want me to?"

"No. I don't know, maybe sometimes." Donna looked away.

"I'll take you home," the Doctor said quietly.

* * *

><p>Donna had never been so glad to see Chiswick in all her life. It was all there, just as she'd left it, not a pile of ash.<p>

"Mum? Dad? Gramps?," Donna called, walking into the house.

"In here, sweetheart!," Wilf called.

They walked into the sitting room. Donna hurried in to find Wilf and Martha having tea.

"Hello," said Donna.

"I'm not staying long," said Martha. "I just came back into town with your family and I had to call my mum for a ride. Lot of fun that was."

"She just wants what's best for you, sweetheart," said Wilf. "I'm sure she's very proud of you, about to be a doctor and all."

Martha smiled. "Yeah, I guess she is."

Wilf looked at Donna. "So, what was all that about yesterday? We got all the way to some island in Wales and you ring to bring us back."

"Well, the thing, it sort of blew over," said Donna.

"And Harold Saxon?," asked Martha.

"Gone," said the Doctor.

"Okay," said Martha.

"Donna, is that you?," Sylvia shouted. "What time do you call this? Do you have any idea what we've been through?!"

Donna sighed. "Oh, God."

"She doesn't remember anything, Donna," said the Doctor.

"There wasn't a lot of effect on her when she did remember," said Donna. She headed down the hall to where her mother was unpacking..

"Holiday ruined," said Sylvia. "We went all the way to Wales, then had to come back to find the car's been towed. Messages from everyone saying you were on the Most Wanted list. Do I get any explanation for what's gone on?"

"It's complicated, Mum."

Sylvia looked past Donna to glance down the hall at where the Doctor was spying.

"What's he doing here?," she asked.

"He's with me."

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "What's that mean?"

"Well, we sort of got married..." Donna blurted out.

"Since yesterday? Oh, do be serious, Donna."

"I am serious, Mum."

Geoffrey entered. "What's going on?"

"Your daughter's having a go at me," said Sylvia.

"What?"

"I got married," said Donna.

"To who?," asked Geoffrey.

"She says that madman from her wedding," said Sylvia. "Don't think that costume jewelry ring is going to convince me, either."

Donna just then looked at her finger and realized that she was still wearing the biodamper. She had worn it the entire time and never even thought about it. "We're married, Mum."

The doorbell rang. Sylvia walked out. "Must be your mum, Martha, love. Do you think she'll have time for tea?"

Donna turned to her dad.

"I'm happy for you, love. Even if your mum needs time. I knew he fancied you."

Donna wanted to smile, but couldn't.

"What's wrong, Donna?," asked Geoffrey.

"When are you going to tell them you're sick?," asked Donna.

Geoffrey sighed. "How did you know?"

"Let's just say I got some advanced information," said Donna. "What are you going to do?"

"What can I do, Donna?," asked Geoffrey. "Everyone goes sometime."

Donna shook her head. "I don't want you to go," she said, tearing up.

"Oh, now, come here," said Geoffrey, pulling her close. "I've had a good life, no complaints. I've had you and your mother. Grandchildren would have been nice, but I'm just glad knowing you're settled."

Donna shook her head. "I should stay here. I can help take care of you-"

"I don't want you fussing over me," said Geoffrey. "Your mother can do enough for both of you, believe me. Besides, have you and that husband of yours even been on a proper honeymoon yet?"

"No, actually," said Donna. "It was pretty rubbish."

"Well, then," said Geoffrey, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

"Oh, Dad, don't give me money," moaned Donna.

"Come on, you can't take it with you."

"Please don't joke about this," said Donna.

"Who's joking?," asked Geoffrey. "I'm dead serious."

Donna rolled her eyes. Geoffrey handed her a note.

"Fifty pounds? This is too much," said Donna.

"No, no," said Geoffrey. "You go out with your husband and have a nice dinner on me."

The Doctor joined them. "Sorry. Had to get out of there. A lot of mums in that room."

Geoffrey took the Doctor's hand and shook it heartily. "Congratulations, son. I knew there was something between you two."

"Uh, thank you," said the Doctor, looking at Donna. "Everything alright in here?"

"Just fine," said Geoffrey. "Excuse me."

Geoffrey walked away. The Doctor smiled back at Donna, now noticing she wasn't.

"Why can't you save him?," Donna whispered. "I could see it if he was JFK or Gandhi or something important..."

"He is important."

"Why is he important?"

"Because he's your dad, Donna."

Donna shook her head. "He's not even mad."

The Doctor nodded.

"He just wishes he had grandchildren, that's it. I don't even think there's enough time..." Donna looked up. "Wait."

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"So, it's been four days and I've really been gone for the better part of a year? I mean, if you don't count that other year."

The Doctor nodded. "Suppose so."

"Then if I wanted to be gone the better part of a year and be back tomorrow morning, I could?"

"Yeah, what do you need to be gone the better part of a year for?"

Donna sighed. "This marriage of ours, does it include children?"

The Doctor started coughing uncontrollably while Donna stood there, quite bemused. "You're moving quick."

"We've been married a year."

"We're still on our honeymoon!," the Doctor protested.

Donna sighed. "Fine. It was a stupid idea. Never mind."

She turned to leave and the Doctor grabbed her wrist. She looked back.

"Donna, if you want children because you want one, that's one thing. I'm your husband and it's my job to make you happy, but if you want children just to get your mum and dad off your back-"

"I've always wanted them," said Donna. "Ever since I was a little girl, maybe it's not the best time, but if it means my dad gets to meet his grandchild, then I think it's as good a time as any."

"Just one problem, though," said the Doctor.

"What?," asked Donna. She didn't think she could deal with another disappointment.

"We would need to get started making one."

Donna put her hands on her hips. "What? Don't think you have it in you?," she teased.

"I definitely have it in me," said the Doctor. He grabbed Donna's hand. "Donna Noble, you are about to see how much I've missed you."

"Bet I missed you more."

"We'll discuss it on the TARDIS," said the Doctor hurrying her towards the front door. "We're going!"

"Back in the morning!," said Donna.

"What are you talking about?," asked Sylvia just as the door slammed shut.

* * *

><p>The Doctor shut the door on the TARDIS and ran to the console. "Old Girl's still repairing, but that's alright, she can take a rest while we uh, well, you know..."<p>

"Shag like bunnies?," asked Donna.

"Yeah, that," said the Doctor, setting the TARDIS in the Time Vortex.

He pulled a lever and the ship shook and spun around. Donna once again held on to the railing for dear life as the Doctor righted the ship and hurried around the console.

"What's your problem?," he asked softly.

"Just settle down now!," said a man in a cricket uniform, also working at the console.

"Excuse me," said the Doctor.

"So sorry," said the other man.

"Uh, Doctor?," asked Donna finally standing up straight.

"Yes?," said both men, turning to face her. They then stopped and turned to face each other.

"What?"

"What?"

"What?!," they said simultaneously.

"Okay," said Donna. "This ought to be interesting."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: <strong>Time Crash _


	44. Time Crash

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. I can't think why. Thanks for the reads and reviews, I love getting them. Short chapter, but you know, short skit. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>The three stood in the TARDIS looking at each other.<p>

"Who are you two?," asked the man with the celery. He looked at the two of them. "What are you doing in my TARDIS?"

"Oh, my God!," said Donna, things suddenly clicking. She turned to her doctor. "He's-"

"That's right," said Ten.

Donna looked him up and down. "Oh, my God! OH. MY. GOD!"

"Is that all you're going to say?," asked Five.

"What am I supposed to say?," Donna snapped.

Now Ten spoke. "Oh, brilliant! I mean, totally wrong, big emergency, universe goes bang in five minutes but... brilliant!" He looked at Donna. "Isn't it brilliant?"

"What do you mean the universe goes bang in five minutes?," asked Donna with a scowl.

"Isn't this brilliant?," asked Ten, clearly ignoring the whole universe ending thing.

"Not if the universe goes bang in five minutes," said Donna. "Sorry, didn't walk the Earth so you could blow up the universe."

"I'm not blowing it up!," Ten squeaked.

"I'm the Doctor, who are you?," Five asked accusingly.

"Yes, you are," said Ten, still grinning, "You are the Doctor."

"Yes, I am the Doctor."

"Oh, my God," said Donna.

"Seriously, Donna," said Ten.

"The size of your bloody ego is amazing. You are actually excited about-"

"Is there something wrong with you two?," Five interrupted.

"Oh there it goes! The frowny face, I remember that one!," said Ten. He grabbed his counterpart's face with both hands and squished his cheeks. "Mind you, bit saggier than it ought to be, hair's a bit grayer. That's because of me, though, the two of us together has shorted out the time differential, should all snap back in place when we get you back home. Be able to close that coat again. But never mind that! Look at you! The hat, the coat, the crickety cricket stuff the... stick of celery, yeah. Brave choice celery, but fair play to you - not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable."

Five finally snapped. "Shut up! There is something wrong with my TARDIS and I've got to do something about it very, very quickly, and it would help, it really would help, if there wasn't some skinny idiot ranting in my face about everything that happens to be in front of him and some woman who only seems capable of saying three words!"

"Watch it, celery boy," said Donna.

"Oh, okay, sorry, Doctor," said Ten.

"Thank you," said Five turning and putting his hat down on the console.

"Oh! The back of my head!," Ten exclaimed. "Sorry, Sorry, not something you see ever day, is it, the back of your own head. Mind you, I see why you wear a hat. I don't want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?"

Five turned and glared. "What have you done to my TARDIS? You've changed the desktop theme... what is this one then, coral?"

"Well..."

"It's worse than leopard skin!"

"Leopard skin?," asked Donna.

"It was a phase," said Ten.

"Got any other settings I should know about?," asked Donna. "Like cuffs and leather?"

"I promise there are lots of settings we're going to explore," said the Doctor. "Just hold that thought."

"I was joking!," said Donna.

"No cuffs and leather?"

"No!," Donna screeched.

"Well, how should I know? You're my first human! I don't know what you all generally get up to, I've only gotten hints from HBO!," said Ten. "And Jack! Not that I want them, mind you."

"What are you two on about?," asked Five.

"God, he's denser than you," Donna muttered.

Five pulled out a pair of glasses.

"Oh, my God!," said Donna. "The brainy specs! Him, too?"

Ten nodded, grinning.

An alarm sounded.

Five looked frantically back at the controls. "That's an alert. Level five. Indicates a temporal collision. It's like two TARDISes have merged, but there's definitely only one TARDIS present. Looks like two time zones at war in the heart of the TARDIS. That's a paradox. Could blow a hole in the space time continuum the size of..."

Ten pushed the console monitor around for him to see.

"Well, actually, the exact size of Belgium. That's a bit undramatic, isn't? Belgium?"

Ten pulled the sonic screwdriver out. "Need this?"

"No."

"Oh, that's right, you mostly went hands free didn't you? It's like 'Hey, I'm the Doctor, I can save the universe with a kettle and some string, and look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable!'"

Five glared at Ten closer. "Who are you?"

"Take a look."

"Oh... oh no."

"Oh yes."

"You're... oh no, you're…"

"Here it comes, yep, yep I am."

"A fan!," Five practically spat. He turned to the console as it began beeping again.

Donna shook her head. "Hard to believe you even have fans."

"Then what are you?," asked Five.

"Well, I'm your-"

Donna suddenly found Ten's hand over her mouth. "She's a fan."

She scowled at him and he finally released his hand.

"Level ten now! Two minutes to Belgium!"

"I'm you," said Ten.

"Okay, you're my biggest fan. Look, it's perfectly understandable. I go zooming around space and time, saving planets, fighting monsters and being, well, let's be honest, pretty sort of marvelous..."

Ten grinned as Donna rolled her eyes.

"..And naturally every now and then people notice me... start up their little groups. That LINDA lot... are you one of them? How did you get in here?" He brandished a finger at him. "Can't have you lot knowing where I live."

"Listen to me, I'm you! I'm you with a new face." He slapped his own cheeks. "Check out this bone structure Doctor, because one day, you're going to be shaving it."

A bell sounded.

"What is that?," asked Donna.

"The cloister bell," said Five.

"Yep, right on time, that's my cue," said Ten.

They both jumped back at the console and started working.

"In less than a minute we're going to detonate a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe!," said Five.

"Yeah, that's my fault, actually; I was rebuilding the TARDIS; forgot to put the shields back up, just a bit distracting in here. Your TARDIS and my TARDIS... well the same TARDIS, different points in its own time steam collided and, oop, there you go, end of the universe, butterfingers. But don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out. Venting the thermal buffer, flooring the Helmic regulator, and just to finish off, let's fry those Zeiton crystals."

"You'll blow up the TARDIS!," said Five.

"It's the only way," said Ten.

"Who told you that?"

"You did!"

Ten pulled the final control.

"Supernova and black hole at the exact same instant!," said Five.

"Explosion cancels out implosion."

"Matter remains constant."

"Brilliant!"

"Far too brilliant. I've never met anyone else who could fly the TARDIS like that."

"Sorry, mate, you still haven't."

"You didn't have time to work all that out, even I couldn't do it."

"I didn't work it out, I didn't have to."

"You remembered."

"Because you will remember"

"You remembered being me, watching you, doing that. You already knew what to do because I watched you do it."

"Wibbley wobbley…"

"Timey whimey!," they shouted in gleeful unison.

Donna shook her head after taking this all in. "God, I have never heard a man who enjoys talking to himself so much." Another alarm sounded.

"Oh, no, TARDISes separating," said Ten. "Sorry, Doctor, time's up, back to long ago... Where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan, Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master? Oh he just showed up again, same as ever."

"Has he still got that rubbish beard?," asked Five.

"Had a wife," said Donna.

Both men stopped and looked at her.

"Oh," said Donna, "so we're still not talking about that?"

Five began to fade. "Oh, I seem to be off. What can I say? Thank you... Doctor."

"Thank you," said Ten.

He faded completely, then Ten flipped a switch and he reappeared.

Ten handed Five his hat. "You know... I loved being you. Back when I first started, at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you... and it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted... I still do that! The voice thing, I got that from you. Oh!" He put his foot on the console as Donna smiled. "And the trainers and..." He reached in his pocket, pulled out his glasses and put them on. "Snap! Because you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor."

Five smiled and tipped his hat. "To days to come."

The Doctor bowed his head slightly. "All my love to long ago."

Five faded away and Donna approached her Doctor by the console.

Ten looked at Donna. "Do you think I could pull off celery?"

"No," said Donna.

"Oh, come on! Let me try!"

"What do you need celery on your lapel for?"

"Snack. Decoration. Detoxification."

Five's voice came out of nowhere. "Oh, Doctor, don't forget to put up your shields!"

"What's he mean put up your shields?," Donna asked as he flipped another lever.

Just then, they heard a foghorn and looked up in shock as a huge ship crashed into the console room. The Doctor looked to see that a life preserver had fallen onto the metal floor. He walked over and picked it up.

"What the hell just happened?!," asked Donna.

"Well..." said the Doctor.

Donna walked over and looked at the life preserver.

S.S. Titanic.

"No," said Donna.

"We-"

"No!"

"Donna, we don't even know what-"

"No!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next Time: <strong>Voyage of the Damned _


	45. Voyage of the Damned, Part One

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews! I love getting them. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>There had been more yelling, more what, more no, while the Doctor closed the great, gaping hole in the TARDIS and moved the ship.<p>

"What do you think you're doing?!," Donna shrieked as the Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS.

The Doctor walked out, looking around at what appeared to be a large cargo hold. "I'm having a look around."

Donna remained firmly planted in the doorway of the TARDIS. "No, you are not. Get back in here."

The Doctor frowned. "Is that an order?"

"Our married life has thus far consisted of my walking the Earth and you turning into a hobbit, so, please, excuse me if I am not that eager to drown in the North Atlantic along with Cousin Patrick and Leonardo di Caprio!"

"Who's Cousin Patrick?"

"Downton Abbey!"

"Are you worried about the estate passing to someone else?," he teased.

"Doctor!"

He smiled. "You're not going to drown, Donna. Care to know why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because my breasts are a natural flotation device?"

"Well, there is that," he said, tugging at his ear. "Then again, there's no water."

"No water?"

"Listen," said the Doctor.

Donna listened. It didn't feel like they were on a boat. Before she could comment further, the Doctor was walking away. She groaned, shut the door to the TARDIS and hurried after him.

She entered a room that certainly could have come out of the Edwardian period. The women were all dressed for it, the men were in tails. There were some off bits, though, like the robotic angels and the small, red man with spikes walking past them. She spotted the Doctor as he strode over to a window overlooking Earth.

"Right..." said the Doctor, drawing it out.

"What the hell is going on?," asked Donna.

An announcer came over the public address system. "Attention all passengers. The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: Human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas."

Donna looked at the Doctor. "What?"

"Must be some sort of cruise ship, I don't know."

"A cruise ship?," asked Donna. "Earth a big hot spot in outer space tourism circles?"

"Maybe," said the Doctor. "We should investigate. We're going to have to change clothes..."

"We're not investigating."

"Don't you want to know what they want with Earth?"

Donna scowled. Yes, there was that whole protecting the planet bit. That was starting to prove inconvenient.

* * *

><p>Donna walked into the wardrobe the TARDIS had built her, intent on finding some of her Mrs. John Smith clothes.<p>

"Okay," said Donna. "Where are they?"

The clothes appeared. Donna sighed.

"Sorry, they just look a little plain, don't they? I mean, school teacher's wife, fine."

The ship hummed.

"Okay, yes, they were excellent for a school teacher's wife. I was the best dressed school teacher's wife in nineteen thirteen."

The ship hummed in the affirmative.

"You don't have anything a bit more showy, do you?," asked Donna. "You've seen Downton Abbey. I mean, it is my honeymoon."

The TARDIS hummed in agreement.

* * *

><p>"Donna!," the Doctor whined. "We'll be late!"<p>

"We're stowaways!," Donna shouted back. "How are we going to be late?"

The Doctor turned as she emerged from the corridor into the console room. She had on an aubergine dress with contrasting gold taffeta and a brooch at the waist. More importantly to the Doctor, it was figure hugging and doing amazing things for her cleavage. She seemed to know it, too.

"Donna..."

"So?" Donna twirled around. "How do I look? Worth waiting for?"

The Doctor tried to think of something to say.

"Okay, don't give yourself a heart attack," said Donna, pleased with his reaction. "At your age, you don't want to risk it."

"I resent that," said the Doctor. "I'm in the best shape of my lives. Go on. Ask me to do anything."

"Maybe later," said Donna, putting on some opera length gloves. "We have to go see what they want with the Earth, don't we?"

"Right. That," said the Doctor.

Donna took his arm. "Just so we're clear in advance, if there is a lifeboat situation, I will be getting on so you can have the door to yourself."

"Donna, there's no water," said the Doctor as they left the TARDIS.

"I"m not daft, I know that, I'm just saying if there's a lifeboat type situation, I'm getting on it."

They walked back into the reception room and past a screen with a bald man on it.

"Max Capricorn Cruise Liners - the fastest, the farthest, the best. And I should know because my name is Max."

His gold tooth glistened as the screen reverted to the cruise line logo.

"Why does everyone here look human?," asked Donna.

"What?"

"Well, except for that red fellow," said Donna. "Why do they all look human?"

"They do not."

"I'm looking at them, they look human."

"No, they look Time Lord."

Donna's jaw dropped. "Are you playing at semantics with me?"

"No. We came first. You all look like us."

"Quite an ego there."

"Ego's got nothing to do with it, Donna."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

A man walked past them on what appeared to be a mobile.

"Okay, why are they all dressed like us?," asked Donna. "Or is this what Time Lords wear?"

"Don't know, let's see." The Doctor walked over to one of the gold angels. "Hi! Passenger 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be..."

"Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information."

"Good, so, um, because I'm an idiot, tell me where we're from?"

"Information: the Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

"Okay," said Donna, "how about you tell me what sort of moron decided to name the ship Titanic?"

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

Donna snorted. "Did they tell you why it was famous?"

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr Max Capricorn, president of Max - Max - Max..." the robot stammered.

"Oh, that doesn't look good..." said the Doctor, reaching for his sonic screwdriver.

The Chief Steward walked over. "Sir, we can handle this." He motioned and two other members of the crew arrived to take the robots away. "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas."

He walked off. Donna looked at the Doctor. "Cut rate cruise you've brought me on."

"For Tov's sake! That's a genuine Earth antique!"

They turned to see that a waitress had dropped a tray and was getting shouted at by the man with the mobile.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart. Staffed by idiots. No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain."

Now Donna stepped up. "Oi! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

The man stared down his nose at Donna. "And who are you?"

"No, I asked first! You think it's alright just to go round shouting at people because you've got money?"

"Mind your own business!," he shouted and began to stomp away. Donna stuck her foot out, making him trip over his next few steps. He regained balance and glared back at her.

"Got something to say?," asked Donna.

"Careful. There you go," said the Doctor, helping the woman.

"I can manage, sir."

"I never said you couldn't. I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Astrid. Astrid Perth." She stood back up.

"Pleased to meet you, Astrid Perth. Oh, this is my wife, Donna," said the Doctor.

"Hello, ma'am," said Astrid. "Enjoying the cruise?"

Donna shrugged. "We're on our honeymoon."

"Oh, congratulations," said Astrid.

"Yeah, it's been a bit of a rocky start," said Donna.

"Maybe that'll change when you see Earth," said Astrid.

"Doubt it," said Donna. "Are there any lifeboats onboard?"

Astrid frowned at her.

"Sorry, just excuse her," said the Doctor. "She's been in... Barcelona."

The Doctor pushed Donna away.

Donna rolled her eyes. "'Oh, this is my wife'?"

"What?"

"You forgot you were married for a bit."

"How did I forget I was married?!"

"You hesitated before you introduced me."

"I introduced you!"

"Try this, 'I'm the Doctor and this is my wife, Donna. We're on our honeymoon so cute as you may be, I am not interested in you and your little doe eyes!'"

"I'm not interested in her, Donna. I just helped her with some glass."

"You flirt and you don't even know it. It's a really serious problem you have, which I think has probably led to more than one person getting the wrong impression."

"Name one!"

"Rose ring any bells?"

The Doctor pursed him lips, defeated. "Name another."

Donna rolled her eyes. "We're still not talking about it, I thought."

"Okay, what do I have to do to end this conversation?," asked the Doctor.

Donna shook her head. "You can't just do that."

"Donna, we have been apart for over a year. I am trying to take you on our honeymoon and I am not interested in anyone else. I am so not interested, I am having a very hard time not dragging you off to the first cupboard we can find. So, what do I have to do to end this conversation?"

Donna crossed her arms. "Kiss me, Time Boy."

The Doctor pulled her close to him and kissed her, eliciting a few stares. He broke it up.

"Hi, I'm the Doctor, this is my wife, Donna and we're on our honeymoon."

The other party-goers walked off as they exchanged confused glances.

Donna took a sniff of the air. "Do you smell food?"

"What do you want food for?"

"I walked the planet for a year. I'm still hungry."

Donna led him over to a table where an overweight man and woman sat in purple western style clothing.

"Mind if we join you?," asked Donna.

The woman nodded as she frowned.

"Just ignore them," said the man.

Donna and the Doctor noticed a group laughing.

"What's their problem?," asked Donna.

"They told us it was fancy dress," said the woman. "Very funny, I'm sure."

"They're just picking on us because we haven't paid," said the man. "We won our tickets in a competition."

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in "By the Light of the Asteroid". Did you ever watch?"

"I'm more of a Downton Abbey fan," said Donna.

"You should watch," said the woman. "It's marvelous!"

"Probably not good enough for that lot," said the man. "They think we should be in steerage."

"Well," said Donna, "there's probably some Irish dancers or something down there."

The Doctor frowned. "What are you on about?"

"The film."

"What? Titanic?"

"You didn't watch it?"

"No," said the Doctor.

"That figures," said Donna.

"I think I saw the music video for the theme song," said the Doctor. He looked back at the laughing well to do and pointed his sonic screwdriver. The cork popped out of a champagne bottle, spraying everyone in champagne foam.

"Did you do that?," asked the woman.

"Might have," said the Doctor.

"We like you," said the woman.

"We do," said the man. He took the Doctor's hand. "I'm Morvin van Hoff. This is my good woman, Foon."

"I'm the Doctor, this is my wife, Donna. We're on our honeymoon."

"Oh, married to a doctor! How lucky!," said Foon.

"Yeah," said Donna. "That's one word for it."

"I'm going to need a doctor when I'm done," said Foon, returning to the food. "Must be enormous, these buffalo. So many wings!"


	46. Voyage of the Damned, Part Two

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry it's been a while, but I got stumped and busy. Thanks again for all your reviews and follows. I do appreciate it. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>They continued snacking on buffalo wings for a while and Donna chatted with Morvin and Foon. The Doctor continued ending his sentences with "We're on our honeymoon" and Donna rolled her eyes. She excused herself to go to the ladies' and came back to find her husband was nowhere to be seen.<p>

Donna was not happy with this turn of events. She festered and wandered around the party wondering where he could have gone off to and then got her answer as he and a group including Morvin, Foon and that blonde waitress finally teleported in.

"I was mid-sentence!," the Doctor shouted.

"So sorry, sir," said the man in tweed. "There seems to have been a power fluctuation."

The steward stepped forward. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, we seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, free drinks will be provided."

"What sort of power fluctuation?," asked the Doctor.

He spun his head round to see Donna, arms crossed, scowling. Astrid hurried away.

"What the hell just happened?," asked Donna.

"Uh, see, there was this excursion to Earth and you see Astrid never gets to go on shore leave and all she wanted to do was see new planets and I know what that's like so I sort of snuck her on and I figured you had been to Earth anyway, what with having been born there and lived there for the better part of your life-"

"You took another woman on an excursion on your honeymoon?," Donna asked tartly.

"Now, see, when you phrase it like that, I admit, it sounds bad," said the Doctor. "But nothing happened, in fact, your grandfather was there and you can ask him all about it, you know, next year or this year, really, at Christmas dinner or whatever. He seemed to think I was late. What time do we have Christmas dinner?"

"What?," asked Donna.

"Just humans. I don't know your tribal habits quite yet-"

"My tribal habits?," asked Donna.

"Well, I assume we do something on Christmas Eve, probably with your family, but you were getting married last Christmas Eve. What does your mother cook? Do I need to bring anything?"

"Stop talking," said Donna.

The Doctor opened his mouth to protest then prudently shut it.

"I don't know what you've been doing the last nine hundred years, but you really can't just keep running off with blondes at every opportunity."

The Doctor looked around in shock. "Who? Me?"

"Yes, you! No use in trying to deny it! You have a type and a pattern and- what are you doing? Why are you walking away from me?"

The Doctor was headed towards one of the screens with the Capricorn logo on it. He popped it open with the sonic screwdriver and started looking at it.

"What are you doing?," Donna asked marching over.

"They said something about power fluctuations interrupting the teleport." he looked back at the screen behind the frame. "Oh, that's not good."

"What's not good?"

"Well, I don't want you to panic..."

"Why would I panic?"

"See, it's just that the shields are offline and there are some... meteoroids heading towards us. That's all."

"What?!," Donna screeched.

"I said not to panic!"

"I said not to come aboard the Titanic!"

"Well, we'll discuss who said what at a later date..." The Doctor pushed some buttons. "Is this the bridge? I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in west zero by north two."

"Who is this?," a gruff voice demanded.

"Never mind that. Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and now shielding-"

"You have no authorization. You will clear the comms at once."

Donna threw her hands up. "Oh, too much to ask the captain of the Titanic to be competent!" She pushed in and faced the speaker. "Put the bloody shields up!"

The steward arrived. "if you'll come with me, sir..." he said as he grabbed the Doctor by the arm.

"Oi!," shouted Donna. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!," shouted the Doctor.

"Everything is perfectly under control," said the steward.

"You idiot! You're on the Titanic!," Donna shouted.

"Madame-"

They were soon joined by Morvin and Foon. "Sir! He's just had too much to drink!," said Morvin.

"Steward, I can vouch for him!," said Astrid, joining their entourage.

"Step off, blondie!," said Donna.

"Sir, something seems to have gone wrong! All of the teleports are down!," the man in tweed started.

"Of course it has! We're on the Titanic!," Donna shouted.

"The shields are down! We are going to get hit!," said the Doctor.

"Like the Titanic!," said Donna. She then noticed a red, spiky headed man staring at her as if she were mad. "Don't give me that look!"

"Oi! Steward! I'm telling you the shields are down!," said a man in tails who had just joined them.

"Oh, look, Billy Zane is here," said Donna. "Can you please let go of my bloody husband so I don't end up hangong on a door?!"

Suddenly, they heard a collision and everyone was thrown to the floor. The Doctor lunged forward and grabbed Donna as the others scrambled to get their bearings. The ship creaked and groaned.

The Doctor looked to Donna. "Are you alright?"

"You're groping me again," said Donna.

"Sorry," said the Doctor. "I don't know why, my hands just keep ending up there."

"You don't know why?," Donna asked tersely.

The Doctor didn't answer, he just helped Donna off the floor.

"Everyone alright?," asked the Doctor.

The steward spoke. "Ev-everyone... Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners. We seem to have had a small collision."

"Small?!," Morvin shouted.

"You know how much I paid for my ticket?!," spat the man in tails.

"I'm about to show you a small collision!," Donna shouted.

"Quiet!," shouted the steward. They settled. "Thank you. I- I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruiseliners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first I would point out that we are very much alive."

"For now," said Donna.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship. If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the - the situation," said the steward, heading towards a hatch.

"No, no, don't-" said the Doctor.

It was too late, though. There was nothing beyond the hatch except for open space and the steward was immediately sucked out into the vacuum as the others again held on for dear life. The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on the control panel and the shield again stabilized.

"Everyone all right? Astrid? Foon? Morvin? Mr Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

They all nodded.

The Doctor looked to the man in tails. "You. Billy Zane. What was your name?"

"Slade. Rickston Slade."

"Are you alright?"

He nodded. "No thanks to that idiot!"

"The steward just died!," Astrid said.

"Then he's a dead idiot."

Donna threw her hands up. "Titanic!," she said pointedly to the Doctor.

"I'm seeing your point now, yes," said the Doctor.

"What happened?," asked Astrid. "Why were the shields down?"

"We're on the Titanic," said Donna.

"I don't think it was an accident," said the Doctor.

"How many dead?," asked Astrid.

"We're alive, just focus on that. I will get you out of here," said the Doctor. "If we can just get to my spaceship-"

That's when Donna saw a problem.

"Doctor!," shouted Donna.

"Right. Our spaceship."

Donna smacked the Doctor on the arm and pointed out the hatch into space. The TARDIS was flying away from them.

"Oh," said the Doctor.

"What? What's wrong?," asked Astrid.

"That's my spaceship over there," said the Doctor. "That little blue box."

"She's flying away," Donna said pointedly.

"Yes, well, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest centre of gravity and that would be...the Earth..."

"I'm seeing a flaw in your plan to save us all," said Donna.

"I noticed it as well," said the Doctor. He spoke into the communication panel again. "Deck 22 to the bridge. Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"

"This is the bridge."

"Oh hello, sailor. Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air. The oxygen field is holding. But the captain... He's dead. He did it. I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try."

"It's alright," said Donna.

"Just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's your name?"

"Mishipman Frame, sir."

"Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?"

"I'm all right. Oh my vot. They're cycling down."

Donna looked at the Doctor. "That seems bad."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?," asked the Doctor.

"Okay," said Donna, "more words I'm not liking."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit."

Donna's eyes widened. "Doesn't that mean we crash into the Earth? What if we hit something?"

"Oh, it's worse than that. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth. Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work," said Frame.

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until I can get to the bridge."

"All life on Earth?," asked Donna.

"We're going to die!," said Foon.

"Are you saying someone did this on purpose?," asked Copper.

"We're just a cruise ship!," Astrid protested.

"Okay, okay. Tch, tch. First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B...no...two: we're going to reach the bridge. Three - or C: we're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low Four or D or that little 'iv' in brackets they use in footnotes...why. Right then, follow me."

The Doctor turned to leave as Donna followed. They looked back as Slade spoke.

"Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and seven years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below and this is my wife, Donna and we're on our honeymoon."

Donna glared. "Anybody got a problem with that?"

A chorus of "No"s quickly came from everyone including Slade.

"In that case," said the Doctor, "allons-y!"

Donna sighed, following. "God, you never stop."

"Someday I'm going to meet someone called Alonso and it's going to pay off, Donna," said the Doctor. "You just wait."


	47. Voyage of the Damned, Part Three

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. I know this is a short chapter, but bear with me. It's really hard to find places to cut off in this episode. Thanks for all the reads and reviews and happy reading!

* * *

><p>They followed the Doctor through the bowels of the ruined luxury liner. Donna was quickly and unpleasantly reminded of her time walking the Earth. This was different, though. She had the Doctor with her and was holding his hand as he helped her safely through the wreckage and that was making all the difference. She watched over his shoulder as the Doctor slowly pushed open a metal door revealing another room of heaped wreckage and sparking cables.<p>

The Doctor looked around. "Come on, everyone. Careful."

"Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."

Donna shot a glance back at Mister Copper. "Barbaric?!"

"Those poor Turkey people..." said Foon.

"Never mind them!," said Slade. "Poor us!"

Donna looked back at Slade. "You, shut up. You, barbaric?!"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Actually, that's not true. Christmas is a time of - of peace and thanksgiving and what am I on about? Christmas is always like this."

"Honeymoon. Morocco. Sunshine. Lovely," Donna grumbled.

The Doctor uncovered one of the golden hosts as the rest of the band of survivors filed in. "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

Morvin spoke up. "We can do robotics. Both of us."

"We worked on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff," said Foon.

"See if you can get it working," said the Doctor. "Come on, Donna. Let's have a look over there."

They walked over to find another huge chunk of wreckage.

"It's blocked," said Astrid.

Donna hoped that she wasn't dealing with another blonde who stated the obvious. "Seriously," said Donna, "was this ship just designed to fall apart all at once? Are there no crumple zones? We'd be better off in a G Wiz."

"We'll just have to shift it," said the Doctor. " Rickston, Mr Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta... look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

"No! Bannakaffalatta!"

"Right..." said the Doctor.

"Still not as ridiculous as your name," said Donna.

"Why is my name ridiculous?," asked the Doctor.

"Are you serious?"

"Never mind your banter! What are we going to do?!," shouted Slade.

"Sorry, I thought I told you to shut up!," Donna shouted.

Slade looked offended. The others continued to look slightly scared of Donna, the Doctor included.

"Right," he began slowly, "All right then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

"Easy. Good," said the little red man, hurrying into the opening.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!," shouted Slade.

Donna walked over to Slade, slapped him and walked back next to the Doctor. Astrid and Mister Copper exchanged looks.

"You slapped me," said Slade.

"Yeah," said Donna. "I'll do it again."

"I'm going to sue you!"

"Bannakaffalatta made it!," he shouted from the other side.

"I'm pretty small, I think I can fit through," said Astrid.

"Careful," warned the Doctor as Astrid began.

"Thing is, how are Mister and Mrs. Fatso going to get through there?," Slade asked.

"Sorry, do you not know a slap when you get one?," asked Donna.

"We'll make the gap bigger," said the Doctor.

"We ought to just leave him behind," said Donna. "Might not fix the gap, but it'll help me!"

"Well, look who I'm talking to," said Slade.

"Oi, what does that mean? Are you calling me fat?," asked Donna. She turned to the Doctor. "Are you going to let him call me fat on our honeymoon?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but Donna had already turned back towards Slade.

"Look, Billy Zane, I spent the year walking around a planet, I try to go on my bloody honeymoon and I get a stupid ship from a stupid movie based on a ship that fell apart when it hit some bloody ice! I am not going to stand here and be insulted by some posh twit! For the last time before I punch you in the head and pull your voice box out, shut up!"

"What's a Billy Zane?," asked Mister Copper.

"Exactly," said Donna.

The Doctor turned back to look down the stairs where Morvin and Foon were still at work. "How's it going down there?"

"Almost done!," Morvin replied.

"Good," said the Doctor. He walked back over to the communications panel. "Mister Frame, how are things?"

"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one."

"Lovely," muttered Donna.

"What is it? Are they losing air?," asked the Doctor.

"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host."

Donna frowned. "The hosts?"

"It's working!," Morvin shouted.

Suddenly, they heard the Host's tinned voice. "Kill. Kill. Kill."

"Oh, God," said Donna.

"Turn it off!," shouted the Doctor as he rushed back down.

Donna rushed after him and watched as the Doctor went to help. The host was choking Morvin as Foon tried to shut it off in a panic.

"I can't get it off!," said Foon.

"Here. Go," the Doctor said pushing her aside and back towards Donna. He took out the sonic screwdriver and started using it on the host. "Lock! Double deadlock!"

The Doctor put the sonic screwdriver away and pried the robot's hands from Morvin's throat. "Go! Go! Donna, run! Rickston, get them through!"

"Not a chance!," said Slade, darting through the hole just as Donna and Foon arrived at the landing.

"Oh, you pillock!," Donna shouted.

"I'll never het through there," said Foon looking hopelessly at the opening.

"Yes, you can," said Donna. "Mister Copper, you go first. Foon, I'll help you."

Donna heard the Doctor shouting as she helped Foon in. "It's the hosts! They've gone berserk!"

"Doctor! Come on!," she shouted.

Morvin and the Doctor came up as Foon finally made it through the opening. Donna pushed Morvin in as she could still hear the host chanting, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Doctor, he's stuck!," Astrid shouted from the other side.

"Get in, Donna!," said the Doctor, shoving her in. "Wasn't there supposed to be a lifeboat or something you were getting on?"

Donna crawled in the opening. "Yeah, Time Boy, just as soon as I see one!" She crawled forward to quickly find herself looking at Morvin's rear. She groaned. "Okay, don't take this the wrong way. I am a married woman." Donna shoved him forward and he made it through the opening. She quickly crawled through after him and turned to see the Doctor was coming through with the host after him.

"Doctor!," she shouted.

"I can't hold it much longer!," said Mister Copper. Donna looked to see he was holding the opening with a pole.

"Hurry up!," Donna shouted.

Of course this was one of those times the silly Martian chose to ask a question as he leapt out of the opening with the host looking at him. "Information override You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"

"Information: Deck thrity-one."

Donna shoved the pole from Mister Copper and the rubble collapsed on top of the host. "What did you do that for?! Feel like chatting?!"

"I, uh, well-"

"Are we just going to stand here all day?!," asked Slade.

"Right," said Donna. She marched back over to Slade and slapped him. "Shut up!"

"What do we do now?," asked Astrid, looking at the Doctor.

Donna groaned. "Oh, seriously..."

"Come on," said the Doctor, grabbing Donna's hand. The others filed behind them.

"Is none of this really ringing any bells for you?," asked Donna in a hushed voice. "A little blonde? You show her the universe and she makes eyes at you?"

"Honestly, Donna, we're on a wrecked starliner full of robots programmed to kill us and you want to talk about my shortcomings?"

"Oh, are you admitting you have shortcomings now?"

The Doctor froze. "Did I just say that?"

"Yes, you did," said Donna.

"Well," said the Doctor. "I can admit my..."

"No, you can't," said Donna. "Like you can't admit getting on the Titanic was a bad idea."

"Why would someone program the hosts to kill?," asked the Doctor.

"And there you go, changing the subject," said Donna.


	48. Voyage of the Damned, Part Four

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. This one's a bit longer. Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

><p>They found themselves in another wrecked room. The Doctor hurried to the communications panel yet again.<p>

"Look, food!," said Foon.

"Well, at least someone's happy," said Slade.

"What is your problem?!," shouted Donna.

"What? Are you going to slap me again?"

"Maybe!"

The Doctor sighed and walked over to Donna, pulling her aside. "Donna, this really isn't helping."

"What?," said Donna.

"The shouting at Slade. The slapping. You're not gonna get through to him."

"Oh, so I should just let him continue being a monumental arse?"

"You need to have a bit more patience-"

"Sorry. I lost it all walking the Earth," said Donna. She stomped off and crossed her arms, staring at a bulkhead.

Donna willed herself not to cry. Especially not in front of Slade. Another one of his quips and she was sure she would throw him overboard if she could work out how that worked on an outer space Titanic. She listened as the Doctor once again talked to Frame on the bridge and then saw a sandwich in front of her being offered by a delicate hand.

Oh, God. Astrid was going to be nice to her.

"Thought you'd be hungry," said Astrid.

Donna was hungry. She grudgingly took the sandwich. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"Must be nice, doing all that travelling," said Astrid.

"Yeah," said Donna. "It is. I mean, it's been a while. We were supposed to be starting up again. Then you know..." Donna made a general wave at the ship.

"For your honeymoon?," Astrid asked. "Must be nice. Seeing the stars with a man who adores you."

Donna looked at Astrid. "Oh, come on."

"What?," asked Astrid with that fawn look.

"I'm sure you have plenty of takers. There's got to be blokes falling over themselves left and right-"

"More like I have to keep them from giving me a smack on the bottom when I'm not looking. Life of a waitress."

"Been there," said Donna. She looked at Astrid sympathetically. "Secretary."

"Really?," asked Astrid.

"Yeah, really."

"I wish I could do that. Leave my job, see the stars."

"Oh, God, you really weren't flirting with him, were you?"

"Flirting?" Astrid looked back at the Doctor. "I mean, he's cute and all, but no. I wouldn't want to get on your bad side."

Donna shook her head. She was starting to feel like the most colossal ass. "Sorry. I've just sort of had a time of it lately and..." She looked at Astrid. "I just really need to go to the beach and there was this blonde and I don't know if you've noticed but he's a bit oblivious sometimes. So, sorry if I've come off like a total raving bitch."

"No worries," said Astrid with a smile. "Not like it's the worst thing that's happened today, is it?"

The Doctor walked over. "Deck thirty-one, it's completely hidden from the scanners. No power signal, nothing."

"That's where the host said he was getting orders from, right?," asked Donna. She looked at Astrid. "What's down there?"

Astrid shrugged. "Don't know. Storage, probably."

Mister Copper came over. "Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is. Merry Christmas." The Doctor turned to Donna. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," said Donna, cracking a half smile.

"This Christmas thing. What's it all about?," asked Astrid.

"Long story. I should know. I got the last room," said the Doctor.

Donna looked back at him. "You got the last room? You mean at the inn?"

"Yeah," said the Doctor.

"You couldn't be bothered? Where was the TARDIS? Why didn't you sleep in there?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. Anyway, makes a good visual. Gives schoolchildren a reason to wear dressing gowns on the stage and all that."

"What about poor Mary? She had to give birth in a barn!"

"It is a long story, Donna."

They both looked back to see Astrid and Mister Copper looking totally completely confused.

Mister Copper looked eager to change the subject. "But if the planet's waking up, can't we contact them? They can send up a rocket or something."

"They're not like that," said the Doctor. "They don't have spaceships."

"No, they do," said Mister Copper. "They have shuffles. Space shuffles."

Donna shook her head. "Okay, seriously, where are you getting your information?"

"Honestly?," asked Mister Copper.

"Yeah," said Donna.

"Mrs Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners."

"You lied to the company?," asked Astrid.

" I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic."

"I suppose it is," said the Doctor.

"Why do you two know it so well?," asked Astrid.

"Because I'm from there," said Donna.

"What? You mean you're an Earthling?," asked Copper. "You eat the turkey people?"

"Turkey people?," asked Donna. She looked at the Doctor. "What's he mean?"

"There are a lot of mixed signals going on here."

"Thing is, if we survive this, there will be police and all sorts of investigations. Now, the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well, I won't survive ten years," said Copper.

There was a banging on the door.

"Oh, God," said Donna, "this is worse than Jurassic Park."

"Yes, I've seen that documentary," said Copper. "Those poor people..."

"It's a host. Come on, everyone! Move!," said the Doctor, again grabbing Donna by the hand.

The host's pounding continued even as the creature's fists indented the door. They all made their way through and the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on the door. Donna then turned to see what the next room entailed and it was not good.

There was a huge space that seemed to run the length of the ship. A strut had fallen across creating a makeshift bridge to the other side that Donna couldn't help but think looked about as stable as a fort made of cardboard boxes. It was hanging over something that sounded mechanical and looked bloody frightening.

"What is that?," asked Donna.

"It's the engines," said Astrid.

"Oh. Good," said Donna.

"Nuclear storm drive. As soon as it stops, the Tiranic falls," said the Doctor.

"Because there wasn't enough on my mind," Donna muttered.

"That thing," said Morvin, looking at the bridge. "It'll never take the weight!"

"You're going last, mate," said Slade.

Donna rolled her eyes.

"It's Nitrofine metal," said the Doctor. "It's stronger than it looks."

"All the same, Rickston's right, me and Foon should-"

Just then the catwalk Morvin had been standing on collapsed out from under him. Donna's hand covered her mouth as they watched in horror as Foon called for her husband.

"I told you!," said Slade. "I told you!"

Donna glared but Mister Copper beat her to talking back this time. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

Foon turned to the Doctor. "Bring him back! Bring him back! Can't you bring him back, Doctor!"

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"You promised!"

"I know. I'm sorry," said the Doctor.

Donna walked over and took Foon in her arms as she sobbed. She looked at the Doctor. "Go on. Get the rest across."

"Donna-"

"I've got her. You get them."

The Doctor turned to the bridge as they heard the footsteps of more hosts.

"I rather think those things have got our scent," said Copper.

"I'm not waiting!," said Slade.

"Careful!," said the Doctor. "Take it slowly!"

They once again heard the hosts chanting.

"They're getting nearer," said Mister Copper.

"Seal us in," said the Doctor, using the sonic screwdriver on the door.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?," asked Mister Copper.

"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced."

"Oh," said Mister Copper.

"I'm okay!," Slade called from the halfway point.

"Maybe he's alright," Foon started speaking frantically to Donna. "Maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know. Maybe he's unconscious."

Donna shook her head. "I'm sorry, love. I don't think so."

"What am I going to do without him?," Foon sobbed.

Slade reached the other side. "Yes! Oh, yes! Who's good!"

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," said the Doctor.

"Bannakaffalatta, small."

The pounding on the door resumed.

"Careful!," said the Doctor. "Astrid, you go next. Mister Copper, come on. We can't wait."

Bannakaffalatta and Astrid started on the bridge. The Doctor walked back to Donna and Foon. "Donna, come on. I need you to go."

Donna shook her head. "I can't just leave her."

"We're not. Come on. We're all going." The Doctor pulled Donna up. "Come on. I mean it. Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"What for?," asked Foon. "What am I gonna do without him?"

"Doctor!," Slade called from the other side. "The door's locked!"

Donna leaned down. "Come on, Foon. Morvin would want you to go."

She looked up at Donna. "That's just it! He don't want nothing, he's dead!"

"Foon, I am coming back for you," said the Doctor. "Donna, come on."

Donna looked at the bridge. Bannakaffalatta, Astrid and Mister Copper were making their way across. Donna looked at the Doctor. "Are you sure that thing will hold?"

"Would I let you go if I wasn't? Come on."

Donna groaned then took her high heels off. The Doctor then watched in astonishment as she pulled her skirt up and started rolling her stockings off.

"Donna, what are you doing?," asked the Doctor.

"I can't go across in this heel and the stockings are slippery!," said Donna. She finished and unceremoniously dropped the stockings over the side and picked her shoes back up.

"But you're keeping the shoes?"

"I like the shoes," said Donna.

"You can't carry the shoes and walk across!"

"I like the shoes!"

"Here," said the Doctor, grabbing the heels from her and shoving them in his jacket pocket where they seemed to disappear. "Could you go across now?"

Donna took a breath and stepped on the bridge. She felt unsteady and the bridge didn't feel much sturdier.

"I'm right behind you, Donna. In your own time."

"Yeah," muttered Donna. "No rush. Just a falling ship and killer robots, that's all."

"Oh, there's my Donna. Always looking on the bright side."

Donna made her way across with the Doctor right behind. The metal creaked.

"Too many people!," said Bannakaffalatta.

"Oi, don't get spiky with me!," said the Doctor. "Keep going!"

"It's gonna fall!," said Astrid.

"It's just settling," said the Doctor. "Come on, Donna."

"A beach!," said Donna. "I need a beach!"

The pounding of the hosts suddenly stopped and it became quiet.

"It's stopped," said Astrid.

"Gone away?," asked Bannakaffalatta.

"Where have they gone?," asked the Doctor.

Donna groaned. "Oh, please, don't answer that..."

"Doctor!," said Mister Copper. "I'm afraid we forgot the tradition of Christmas, that angels have wings!"

Donna and the Doctor looked up to see they were encircled by a group of golden hosts, floating in the air.

"I knew I didn't want that answered," said Donna.


	49. Voyage of the Damned, Part Five

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I really appreciate it and how much enthusiasm you've all had for this story. Also, hello to all lurkers. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

><p>They didn't have very long to stare at the hosts before the Doctor shouted, "Arm yourselves!"<p>

"With what?!," Donna snapped. She looked around to see she was way behind the curve on this one. The Doctor, Astrid and Bannakaffalatta had all gotten various pipings off the bridge. Foon, Mister Copper and Slade watched in horror from either side. The hosts began throwing their halos like boomerangs at the party as they tried to fight them off with the makeshift weaponry. One of the halos hit Donna causing her to fall forward and grasp for the bridge.

"Donna!," shouted the Doctor. This was enough distraction for him to get hit in the arm by a halo.

"Doctor!," she shouted back.

Astrid was stung by another halo and they heard a clang to the bridge. Bannakaffalatta had tossed his piping aside.

"Bannakaffalatta stop! Bannakaffalatta proud!" He then ripped his shirt open revealing a metallic torso. "Bannakaffalatta cyborg!"

There was some kind of energy discharge and the hosts fell away. The Doctor rushed to Donna and helped her to her feet.

"Are you alright?," he asked urgently looking her over.

"I'm fine. What the hell just happened?"

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics. Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant! Brilliant!"

Bannakaffalatta fell. Astrid rushed over to him.

"He's used all his power!," said Astrid.

"Did good?," asked Bannakaffalatta.

"You saved our lives," said Astrid.

"Bannakaffalatta happy."

"We can recharge you," said Astrid. "Get you to a power station."

"Too late."

"No, but you gotta get me that drink? Remember?"

"Pretty girl," said Bannakaffalatta as he finally faded away.

Mister Copper walked over to Bannakaffalatta's body and took something from him.

"Leave him alone," said Astrid.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me," said Mister Copper. "It's the EMP transmitter. He - he'd want us to use it. I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

"Try telling him that!," said Slade.

They turned to see a host behind the Doctor. He placed himself between it and Donna. "No, no, no. Hold on. Override loophole security protocol... Ten! 666! Oh. 21, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Um, I dunno, 42! Uh, one!"

The host stopped. "Information: state request."

"Good...right. You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the Titanic so that contravenes your orders, yes?," asked the Doctor.

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"What? This is Aladdin now?," asked Donna.

The host ignored her. "Information: now you will die."

The host pulled off his halo as the Doctor pushed Donna further and further away. a lasso suddenly went over the host's head.

"You're coming with me," said Foon.

"Foon, don't!," Donna shouted.

It was too late, though. Foon jumped off the bridge and took the host with her. Donna just shook her head in horror.

"No more," said the Doctor.

Donna followed as he blew opened the next door and got them into another room.

"Right. Get up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mr Copper. You've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting an SOS. Astrid, you're in charge of this." He handed her the EMP. "Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Rickston, take this I've preset it." He handed him the sonic screwdriver. "Just hold down that button. It'll open doors. Do not lose it! You got that? Now go and open the next door. Go on! Go!"

"All right!," said Slade, rushing off.

"Astrid, go recharge it at that power station," said the Doctor.

"I'll help you," said Mister Copper.

Astrid and Mister Copper walked off. Donna turned to the Doctor.

"What are we doing?," she asked.

"Deck thirty-one. There's something there. I have to find out what." The ship lurched forward. The Doctor walked over to the communications panel. "Mister Frame, you still with us?"

"It's the final phase, sir. We don't have long before the engines shut off."

"Don't worry, I'll get there."

"The bridge is sealed off!"

"Yeah, yeah working on it," said the Doctor.

"Look," said Donna, "before we go-"

"There's not much time left, Donna."

"Yeah, I know, I just want to say I'm sorry for that crack earlier. That walking the Earth thing." Donna shrugged. "I know you weren't exactly on a cruise, either. I mean, now we're on a cruise and look at it."

The Doctor leaned down and kissed Donna.

"What was that for?," asked Donna.

"I'm sorry, too," said the Doctor.

"For what?"

"Well, among other things, for this," said the Doctor.

Before Donna pieced together what was happening the Doctor was through the door back to the engine room and it was sliding shut. Donna tried to rush through it, but it slammed just in front of her,

"You moron!," she shouted. "You great big idiot!"

Astrid walked over. "Come on, Donna. We have to hurry."

"He has my shoes," Donna muttered.

* * *

><p>Donna went with Astrid, Slade and Mister Copper as they made their way back through the ship, eventually landing at reception. Slade ran in first and back out like a skittish schoolgirl when he encountered more hosts. Astrid used the EMP and the hosts fell.<p>

"Okay," said Donna. "Let's shut the door. Mister Copper, can you get us in contact with the bridge?"

"Yes," said Mister Copper, walking over to the communications panel.

"Astrid, keep an eye on the host," said Donna, looking at the fallen creatures. She stepped over one to follow Mister Copper back to his podium. She looked at the array of teleport bracelets and back up at Mister Copper. "Is this the teleport station? It's what you all used to go to Earth, right?"

"Yes," said Mister Copper, continuing to work at the panel.

"Does it work inside the ship?"

"I suppose it can, but not very often."

"Can you use it now?," asked Donna.

"Why would-"

"To get to deck thirty-one."

"You can't go down there," said Mister Copper. "Who knows what's down there?"

"Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are," said Donna. "I really ought to be looking for a lifeboat, but instead I am going to go down and help my husband."

"There's not enough power."

"Then where do I get some?," asked Donna.

Mister Copper hit the comms.

"Bridge," came Frame's voice.

"Yeah, hi, this is Donna, the Doctor's wife."

"Okay..."

"Look, I just need some power to the teleport to get to deck thirty-one."

"Sorry. I can't do that. We're barely staying up as it is."

Donna closed her eyes and took a breath. "Look, he's gone down there all on his own to try and save the day because that's what he does. That's all he ever does and he never complains and says he can do it all on his own, but he needs someone and I want to be that someone." She took a breath, finally noticing that all the eyes in the room were on her. "So, what do you say, Midshipman?"

Frame's reply finally came. "Giving you power."

Donna smiled as Mister Copper handed her a teleport bracelet. She held her hand out for Slade. "The sonic."

Slade handed it over and Donna turned back to Mister Copper.

"Good luck," said Mister Copper.

"Wait, how does this thing-"

The room vanished in front of Donna's eyes and she soon found herself in the bowels of what she hoped was deck thirty-one. She heard the Doctor's voice and crept around the corner.

"When they do, this ship falls into the Earth," said the Doctor. "The Earth gets roasted. I don't understand. What's the Earth got to do with it?"

"This interview is terminated!"

Donna peered around to see the Doctor being held by the hosts. The other person was... a head on some wheeled thing? Like a robot? Wait! She knew that head. It was Max Capricorn.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!," said the Doctor as he got in front of Max to delay his exeunt. "Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me. So... Business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh yes! No. Yes. The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense."

"My own board voted me out," Max admitted. "Stabbed me in the back."

"If you had a back," said the Doctor. Donna caught his eye as she tried to move closer. He smiled, then turned back to Max. "You scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value. Oh, but that's not enough. No, because if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

"And the whole board thrown in jail for mass murder," Max said with obvious glee.

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber..."

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of...metal."

Donna had enough, but she had no idea what to do. So, with no other options she walked over and decided to do what her husband would do in a situation like this.

Start talking like a moron.

She stepped forward. Max looked at her in surprise. "Are you in charge?," she asked haughtily.

Max didn't answer.

"Because I have to say this is one rubbish cruise!," said Donna. "First off, that band was awful. What was that they were singing? The public domain Christmas song playlist? You know what's a good Christmas song? Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade."

"Oh, yeah, that is good," said the Doctor.

"Also," said Donna, "the Buffalo wings? First off, they were dry. I have never had such dry chicken in my life! I nearly choked on it! I really ought to sue you!"

With those last words, the hosts seemed to turn their heads.

"Who is this?," Max snarled.

"This is my wife, Donna and we're on our honeymoon," said the Doctor.

"And some of the other nibbles? Awful! Then to top it all off, your ship gets hit by an asteroid! falling wreckage, killer robots and open engines! Health and Safety would have a field day with that! That is not what people are paying for and frankly, I'd expect you'll be hearing from my lawyer-"

"Kill her," said Max.

"No, wait-" said the Doctor as the hosts approached Donna.

The hosts lurched towards Donna and she feared the worst. They stopped.

"Information: lawsuit aversion."

"What?," asked Donna.

"Information: how can Max Capricorn Cruise Lines rectify your problem?," it asked in its' tinny voice.

Donna glanced over at the Doctor. "What?"

"Oh, you are brilliant, you know that?"

"Override protocols!," shouted Max.

"No override available," said the host.

"On whose authority?!," he demanded.

"Max Capricorn Cruise Liners Legal Services Department."

"Bloody lawyers," said Max.

"Still not following!," said Donna.

The Doctor grinned. "Don't you get it, Donna? You're disgruntled! Probably the most disgruntled person they've ever met- which I mean in the best possible way- their most basic program is to avoid a lawsuit and you are the only woman in the universe who when confronted by killer robots would threaten to sue them!"

Donna looked at the hosts. "Well, you could let my husband go or we'll sue you for battery!"

The hosts released their grip on the Doctor. He looked to Max as his control panel lit up. "You're trying to override them!"

"Would this help?," asked Donna, handing him the sonic.

"Oh, yes," said the Doctor. He pointed it at Max Capricorn's body apparatus until the lights sparked and blew.

"What have you done?!," shouted Max.

"Cut off your access to the ship. Life support still functioning normally," said the Doctor. "The hosts won't answer to you now, they'll answer to the nearest figure of authority."

"And who's that?," asked Donna.

The Doctor turned back to her. "Well, you, of course."

"What?"

"Information: what can I do to improve your holiday?," the host asked.

The Doctor took Donna's hand. "We need to get to the bridge."

Donna looked at the hosts. "Take me to the bridge." She paused and turned to the Doctor. "How are they going to get us to the-"

Before Donna knew what had happened, the hosts had taken her and the Doctor by their unlinked arms and they were flying up.

Donna made the mistake of looking down. "I'm going to be sick."

The Doctor smiled. "Brilliant, isn't it?!"

Before Donna could ask her husband what exactly was wrong with him, the thing was over and the hosts had broken through the floor of the bridge. Donna looked over to see who she presumed was Midshipman Frame working frantically at the controls. The Doctor helped her out of the great gaping hole in the floor and headed to the controls.

"Midshipman Frame!," said the Doctor. "We meet at last. Situation?"

"But the host!," he protested.

"Oh, Donna's got that."

Frame shook his head. "There's nothing we can do. There's no power. The ship's gonna fall."

The Doctor walked towards the helm. "What's your first name?"

"Alonso."

The Doctor's jaw dropped and he turned to Donna with glee. "Did you hear that, Donna?! I told you!"

"Yes, I'm very happy for you," said Donna. "Now save the Earth!"

The Doctor turned back to Frame. "Allons-y, Alonso!"


	50. Voyage of the Damned, Part Six

The ship lurched forward as the Doctor struggled to steer. Donna tried to keep her grip on a handrail. The ship dropped further and further, almost burning at entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

An alarm sounded as the Doctor fought with the wheel of the ship. He looked at a monitor then glanced back at Donna.

"Uh, Donna..."

"What?!"

"Would you mind ringing Buckingham Palace for me?"

"What?!," Donna screeched.

Donna walked and fell over to the phone. "How am I suppose to ring Buckingham Palace? I don't have the number memorized for-"

"Just dial pound, star, four, seven, eight!"

Donna picked up the phone and dialed. She heard ringing. "It's ringing!"

"That's the point, Donna!," the Doctor said still struggling against the force of the wheel.

"Hello?," said a voice on the other end.

"Ooh! Hi! Is this Buckingham Palace?!," asked Donna.

"Yes, who is this?"

"Right, well, see I'm on this outer space replica of the Titanic and I know, it's ridiculous and we need to-"

"Who is this?," the now irritated voice demanded.

"Donna, tell them security code seven-seven-one and to get out of there!"

"Uh, seven-seven-one, get out of there!" She glanced at the monitor with Buckingham Palace showing as the crash zone. "Before we crash?!"

Donna slammed the phone down as the ship went further down.

"Engine active," the computer finally said, "engine active!"

They were very near Buckingham Palace when the Doctor was finally able to pull the ship out of its' spiral. The Doctor looked at Donna and laughed.

"Are you having fun?!," shouted Donna.

"Yes, I am!"

"Whoo hoo!," Alonso shouted, ringing the ship's bell.

The Doctor leaned forward and gave Donna a quick peck on the lips. He leaned back and spun the wheel grinning like a schoolboy.

Donna shook her head. "I'm married to a madman."

"Yes, you are!"

* * *

><p>Once the ship was settled, they met up with the others back in reception, exchanging happy hugs with Astrid and Mister Copper.<p>

Then with Mister Slade who gratefully hugged the Doctor.

"Doctor...I never said...thank you."

The Doctor looked over at Donna as if to gloat in the confirmation of his belief in the innate goodness of people. Donna was about to roll her eyes yet again when Slade spoke again.

"The funny thing is I said Max Capricorn was falling apart. Just before the crash, I sold all my shares, transferred them to his rivals. It's made me rich. What do you think of that?

Before the Doctor could respond, Slade walked away and started talking on his mobile again.

"Come on," said Donna, "just let me slap him again."

"Uh..." the Doctor scratched his head. "Probably traumatized?"

Mister Copper spoke. "Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he? But if you could choose, Doctor, if you decide who lives and who dies that would make you a monster."

Donna sighed. "You're right. Still, that doesn't make it any better."

"I think we had better be off," said the Doctor. He turned towards the podium with the teleport bracelets.

"Okay, Time Boy, I'm just missing one piece of this," said Donna.

"Yes?"

"The TARDIS. She's somewhere on the Earth, right?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes."

"How do we get back to the TARDIS? Because let me tell you I'm not living on Sto." She looked back at the group. "No offense, but none of you even want to go back and you've got cyborgs driving caravans-"

"We're not going to Sto," said the Doctor holding up Donna's teleport bracelet to look at it. He picked up another two off the podium. "Mister Copper," he said tossing one towards him. "Astrid, thank you. You were brilliant."

Donna looked at Astrid. "Sorry, about the whole thinking you were a blonde bitch thing."

Astrid shrugged. "Like I said, no worries. Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon."

"And do yourself a favor," said Donna, "quit your job and go exploring."

Astrid smiled. "I haven't got any money."

"Well, just take out a bunch of credit cards or sue the company," said Donna. "Or find an alien to take you, but you know, not this one."

Astrid smiled. "No, not this one. He's taken."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "And we really should be going," he said.

* * *

><p>"How do we know the TARDIS is in London?," asked Donna shivering in the Doctor's tuxedo jacket as they walked along. Mister Copper was right behind them.<p>

"She always turns up in London."

"Yeah, I meant to ask about that," said Donna. "All of time and space, why are you in London half the time?"

"So, Great Britain is part of, uh, Europee and just across the British Channel you've got Great France and Great Germany?," asked Mister Copper.

Donna looked back at him. "What did they teach you in that mail order school?"

"No, no, it's just, it's just France and Germany. Only Britain is great," said the Doctor. He spotted the TARDIS. "There she is!"

"And they're all at war with Hamerica?," asked Mister Copper.

"No," said Donna.

"Well, no, not yet, it's debatable," said the Doctor.

"Debatable?," asked Donna.

"We'll discuss it later," said the Doctor. He looked at Mister Copper. "Sorry, you know, honeymoon to get off to."

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Are you just going to leave him in the snow on Christmas?," she asked pointedly.

"No," the Doctor quickly recanted. He looked at Mister Copper. "Give me that credit card."

Mister Copper handed over a credit card.

"What's that?," asked Donna.

"Well, it's just petty cash, spending money. It's all done by computer. I - I didn't really know the currency so I thought a million might cover it."

Donna's jaw dropped. "A million pounds?!"

"That enough for trinkets?," asked Mister Copper.

"By trinket, do you mean a yacht or something Liberace might have kept around?," asked Donna.

"Mister Copper," said the Doctor, "a million pounds is worth 50 million credits."

Mister Copper was stunned. "How much?"

"Fifty million and fifty six," the Doctor calculated.

"I've got money!," he exclaimed.

"Yes, you have," said the Doctor handing the card back.

"Oh my word. Oh my vot! Oh my goodness me! I – Ya-ha!"

"Now, Planet Earth, that's a retirement plan," said the Doctor. "No interfering. I don't want any trouble. Just...have a nice life."

"But I can have a house, a proper house, with a garden, and a door, and... oh, Doctor, I will make you proud!" He hugged the Doctor and Donna, then skipped off laughing.

"Where are you going?," asked Donna.

"No idea!"

Donna looked back at the Doctor and followed him into the TARDIS.

"You know, I don't know where we're going either," said the Doctor. "Literally, no idea- what do you look like that for?"

"You still want me?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Donna shrugged. "Have you met me? Did you just see the madwoman on the Titanic?"

The Doctor walked to the other side of the controls in front of Donna. "I forgot how long a year was for you. It doesn't seem like much to me, but I should have given you time."

Donna nodded. "And when exactly do you get this time? Since I've met you it's been one thing after another."

"Starting now," said the Doctor. "I promise."

Donna smiled. "Somehow I doubt that, but could you try not to crash us into the Titanic?"

"I can try..."

"And when I say let's get back in the TARDIS, let's get back."

"Understood."

"Also, no post-apocalyptic scenarios," said Donna.

"You're still frightened of those?"

"God, yes." She frowned. "You know, that telepathic projection or whatever of your other self looked a lot like the bloke in that film."

The Doctor shook his head. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Yes, he did," said Donna.

"Are we going to get on with the honeymoon or just argue?," asked the Doctor.

"Both, I think," said Donna.

"Alright then," said the Doctor. He walked to the controls and spun around as he put the TARDIS in the Vortex. "Anywhere that ever was, is or ever will be, Donna Noble, name it and it's yours."

"A beach would be nice," said Donna.

"One beach it is!," the Doctor said as the brakes kept to grinding.

As Donna looked at his ever optimistic grin, she was about ninety-five percent certain there was not going to be a peaceful beach in her near future.

And she didn't mind.

Mostly.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, which I know must come as a surprise after all this time. It's been almost a year, a couple weeks shy. I've kind of enjoyed my Series 3 rewrite more than I thought I would and I hope you all did. I really have appreciated all the reads and reviews and follows and favorites and reads. Anyway, about reviews, I always love to hear from readers, even if it's been a while since I finished. As for the future, I know there are some Series 4 expectations, but I want to get it right if I do so it may be a while. Or you know, I'll say that and then it will be a week or something. I do have a couple of ideas that I might post on this story, but I'm not sure. Anyway, thanks again and I would love to hear what you think, especially you, lurkers. Thanks again!<p> 


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